The Legendary Emblems
by ThunderJJ
Summary: You've heard of the Dex Holders right? But have you ever heard of the Emblem Bearers? They are a group of teenagers chosen to protect the world using the powers of the legendary emblems. With the force of Legendary Pokemon on their side, they will try to stop the world from devastation... Inspired by the Pokemon Special manga.
1. Chapter 1 - Emblem Awakening

**I'm still alive! :) I was just... er... doing other things...**

**Anyways, this is a new story I'm going to be working on, as I just recently got into the Pokemon manga, which has inspired this I guess...**

**Note: The first two chapters of the story will be written from the main character's point of view (POV)**

**I can't forget the disclaimer...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

******Also, if you think there is anything wrong with this, feel free to inform me :D**

**Without further ado, the story will commence!**

* * *

My name is Rai. I am a sixteen year old boy of average sixteen year old height (I think...). I have short spiky black hair, a custom made stylish yellow leather jacket, and dark blue denim jeans to accompany. Oh, and don't forget my black cape too. My beloved black cape that I almost always have on with me.

So tell me, is a hero sort of figure appearing in your mind? A boy on top of a mountain doing a heroic stance while his cape is blowing in the wind? Actually, what if I told you I was a hero? Would you believe it? Well I don't expect you guys to—after all, it's not everyday that you come across real heroes.

On the other hand, for those of you who do believe me, I'm sure there would be a few wondering, _how did you become a hero?_ Well I don't really know how I'd tell it in a short way, so... would it be alright if I told you guys the full story?

Yes? No? Maybe?

Meh. I might as well just tell the story—for those of you who are interested. But seriously, let me take the time right now to say how much of a legend it has become. The whole of Unova (my home region) knows of the story! In fact, I'm surprised that it hasn't reached the ears of people in other regions yet! Though that's probably due to how many go back and forth between Unova and other places.

Um... yeah. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the story.

* * *

I was over at my best friend's house. We were at his huge forest-like backyard in the middle of a late afternoon training session as usual. It was a daily thing we did—the training I mean. It was how we improved ourselves and our battling skills.

In the last battle we had, I won against my friend in a long and gruelling match. Our Pokemon were tired, so we were bringing them back for their rest.

"Electro, return!"

A beam of red light consumed my Jolteon and brought it back into my pokeball.

"Flash, return!"

My friend Flare was doing the same thing to his Flareon—with a sullen expression on instead. It was explainable though, since he never really liked losing battles against me.

Opting to cheer my best friend up, I walked up to him and held out a hand.

"Nice battle Flare!" I declared happily. "I won in the end, but it was still a great match right?"

After fumbling with his Flash's pokeball, he got out his hand and gave me a firm handshake. "I agree! That was a great battle Rai!"

I didn't know for sure, but it seemed as though his fingers were excessively tight around mine. The smile he had on also seemed like a mask to conceal his true feelings—one of utter disappointment. Regardless, at least we were both able to give each other smiles.

"By the way Rai, it's kinda getting late now." Flare's words snapped me out of my thoughts and I glanced towards the sky. Indeed, the day was ending soon, and the orange setting sun was a sure sign of that. It abruptly triggered a previous reminder that was forgotten until then. I couldn't help but thank my failure brain for it...

"_Rai! You are expected to come back by six-thirty and no later! Got it?!"_

"Ah! I needed to get home by half past six!" I yelled. "My master is definitely going to kill me once I get back home!"

"Chill! It's only twenty past six!" Flare smiled and gave me a thumbs up. "You can still make the deadline! Ten minutes should be enough shouldn't it?"

I frowned on the outside, but inwardly smiled because of how he stole my signature action. We always seemed to like doing that to each other.

"Easy for you to say..." I said. You see, Flare was a faster runner then I was—by a complete mile. Everytime we held a running race from boredom, he would always emerge the winner—even if I received a ten second head start! Crazy huh?

"Rai, aren't you supposed to go now? You're not going to get back home by just standing around, you know?" Flare's words snapped me out again, and I was instantly transformed into an athletic runner. Oh, and just so you know, even this mode couldn't beat Flare. I literally left a trail of dust in my wake as I ran! And to know that it still wasn't enough to out-speed Flare in a race... I'm pretty sure you've got an idea of how fast he is now...

* * *

As I arrived at my house, I glanced at the living room wall clock through the window. It read six-thirty.

I sighed in happy relief, knowing that I wouldn't be destroyed (or lectured) upon entering the house. My master (my foster father) always did that when I arrived home late—and then he'd give my punishment later. It felt good avoiding all that.

So calmly, I twisted the handle and pushed the door open. It only opened halfway for me, so I pushed the door the rest of the way as I stepped in.

"I'm home!" I hollered. I didn't usually do such things, so I guess I've been absorbing some of Flare's traits and using them myself; he's the one that normally hollered, not me.

Carefully, I shut the door behind me and stepped into the house living room, which was to the right of the entrance.

On the blue sofa ahead sat my sister Frost and my master, both watching the television in complete silence. But maybe they went silent after hearing me? I'm not too sure...

"You came back!" Frost cried. She leapt off the comfortable (very comfortable) sofa and embraced me like I was her favourite little dolly—not that she still plays with them... she just keeps them for memories.

Soon, she squeezed me tighter with her suffocating arms. I chuckled light-heartedly and brushed her soft light-blue hair in response. My sister always liked to cuddle me after I came back home.

"I haven't been in a close encounter with death again you know?"

Even without seeing her face, I could tell that my sister was smiling. "I know. I was just a little worried because you're late."

Wait. Did I hear her right just then? Late? How was I late? I'm sure I came back _just _in time, didn't I? But then, what would explain the furious scowl on my master's face? His glaring red eyes sure looked frightening...

To check, I glanced up to the wall clock in the room. Upon noticing what time it was, my mind suddenly became filled with horror. It read twenty-nine to seven on the clock—also known as six thirty-one.

"You were tardy!" grumbled my master as he arose from his seat. "How dare you? After how I reminded you to come home by six-thirty and no later?!"

I sweatdropped. It was silly to be angry with me, wasn't it? I was only late by a minute. _One _minute.

"I was only one minute late," I said calmly. "And besides, the time probably changed as I stepped into the room."

My words seemed to have an opposite effect to what I wanted. My master became angrier—so much that he seemed to be burning with rage. If my eyes weren't deceiving me, then I was sure I could see flames around him.

"One minute late? Only one minute late?!" he boomed. I could've sworn the house shook... "Being one minute late is still unacceptable Rai! How dare you try and argue back?!"

My master seemed to calm down shortly after. He thought for a bit and then glared at me once again. I felt a chill travel up my spine—and typically whenever that happened—I knew something bad was imminent. "Rai! You will be punished for what you've done!"

Both Frost and I grew wide-eyed; I felt horrified, and I knew Frost felt the same for me.

It was that day when I came to hate clocks... even if it was only temporarily.

* * *

It was twelve o'clock midnight (according to my bedside digital clock) and I still wasn't able to go to sleep. The uncomfortableness I had to bear was greatly restraining me from it.

_Great... I'm going to be really tired in the morning..._

All of this was due to the punishment for my 'lateness'; I was forced to sleep one entire night with my arms and legs tied to the four wooden posts supporting my bed. I was hurting all over... and yes, it included _that _area. Even though I had my feathery pillow and quilt, they still weren't able to overcome the uneasy position in was locked into.

"Argh! Why did it have to be this punishment?!" I yelled, annoyed.

Okay, so I'm becoming a lot like Flare. I can't help it though. I hang out with him pretty much everyday. I was bound to grab a few of his habits.

"Argh! Somebody just untie these ropes for me already!" I continued to yell.

"Be quiet!"

I flinched as I heard my master's voice. Another punishment wasn't desirable, so I instantly complied with his words.

Yeah... you're all free to call me a wimp about it, but master's wrath was truly scary. Don't mess with it.

Frowning, I tried to go back to sleep again. It was difficult though, especially considering the fact of how comfortable I was (not very). In fact, I probably didn't even need to tell you guys that I failed to fall asleep.

Eventually, morning came and my sister appeared in my room to wake me up. Of course, she didn't bother once she realized I was already awake.

"Hey Rai! Did you get any sleep last night? Your eyes look baggy and your eyelids look droopy."

I sighed. It was impossible to succeed in getting anything past Frost... for me at least.

"Yeah..."

She seemed alarmed at my answer, as if she didn't expect it.

"Don't tell me it's because of those ropes that you couldn't go to sleep..."

And how she figured was beyond me...

Frost took my ten second silence as a 'yes' and spoke. "Well then Rai, in that case..." She left my bedside and went into my wooden draws. I was wondering about what thing she'd be pulling out... but as she approached my bed, I realized it should've been expected. On her left hand was a pair of scissors; and her dominant hand was the right!

"W-what are you going to do?" I asked frantically.

All Frost did was grin.

"The only thing I ask is for you to stay still. It'll be over shortly."

I immediately complied, and closed my eyes doing so too. I didn't want to see what mindless thing she going to do—like cut out all my hair for example.

* * *

"Finished!" announced Frost. Surprisingly, I still had hair on my head and my clothes intact. It wasn't until she told me that I noticed what she's done.

"I've cut the ropes so you're free now!"

I got up from the bed to test it. My lips cracked into a smile as I stood, realizing that I was free again.

Although, my joy only lasted for a limited time.

My eyelids quickly grew heavy and I collapsed onto the floor.

* * *

I awoke from my bed and stared at the digital bedside clock. It read twelve o'clock noon.

Wait. Twelve o'clock... noon...?

"AHHHHHH!" I screamed, loud enough for the whole town to hear—which by the way was not my intention.

Thankfully, neither Frost or master came to check up. I didn't want them to, because I had a mystery to solve. _How'd I end up on the bed?_ I was sure I blacked-out beside it... eh, probably my sister.

Anyways, I couldn't just spend my time thinking in bed! I itched to hang out with Flare!

So swiftly, I hopped out of bed and left the bedroom in a rush. I brushed my teeth, took a shower, got changed, and skipped breakfast (lunch—according to the time at least).

As I ran out the door, many shouts (from master) were being directed at me, but I just ignored them—after all, I've missed too much of the day already. I'm an adventurous and outgoing guy—not a lazy, gaming, stay-at-home one.

A few blocks from the house and I spotted Frost across the street carrying a brown paper bag. She seemed to have noticed me too, because I found myself in front of her (or her in front of me) before I knew it.

"Where are you going Rai?" she inquired. "Flare's house?" I nodded. "Oh! In that case can I come too? I want to see Flare as well, since I've never seen him for a while now."

For some reason, I grinned at this. I don't know why, but something told me that this day would finally be the day where Flare—who had a crush on my sister—would ask her out or something. You couldn't blame me though, because I've been eager for it to happen. "Sure thing."

"Great!" she smiled. "But before we go, can you wait here for a bit? I need to give these groceries to master. I'll be quick." And without receiving my consent—which she would've got anyways—she ran off. About a minute later, Frost returned and we began walking to Flare's house.

"Does Flare have any new Pokemon?"

"Nah. He still has the same ones you saw him with last time." To be honest, I couldn't remember the last time Frost saw Flare... maybe it was two months ago? Argh! Forgetful brain...

"Okay, so has Flare taught any new moves?"

"No. His Pokemon still knows the same-"

Frost seemed alarmed at my sudden halt. "Still has the same? What happened Rai? Why'd you stop midway through a sentence?" She shook my body as an attempt to shake me out from my daze. I would've sweatdropped... if I wasn't so stunned. She could've just pivoted around and saw what I was seeing...

After endless shaking and prodding, Frost eventually turned her face around. I wasn't sure, but I think she was knocked into the same state I was in.

Flare's house was still in one piece, that was the good thing, but he had both front windows smashed to bits; the door was also scratched by something, evident by the huge single line carving on it.

Taking everything into consideration, there were two possible scenarios. Either some local thugs decided to randomly vandalize this place for fun, or they broke in to steal something. I was freaking out, because stealing 'things' weren't just limited to insentient objects.

"D-d-do you th-think someone has g-gotten Flare?" Frost asked shakily.

I frowned. I certainly hoped not. Though there was a small thought in the back of my mind, which believed that Flare was kidnapped. Was it correct? I only had one way to answer—or at least find the answer.

I took a deep breath. "Let's go in and find out," I announced. Frost reluctantly nodded in reply.

"Yeah..."

* * *

Frost and I entered the house slowly. Of course, I was leading; there was no way I was going to let Frost go first into a rundown building!

Once we both got in the house, Frost gently shut the door behind her and joined me in the living room. I was there observing the whole room, and how it became such a mess. It looked as though a tornado ripped through! With torn sofas, a smashed television in front, a toppled bookshelf in a corner, and a sea of papers on the carpet, it couldn't really get any worse.

"Who's there?!" came a thundering voice. My body froze over on instinct. _Who is that? _I thought.

Turning around, I saw Frost behind me glancing about nervously. "Who was that?" she whispered to me. I replied with a shrug. I didn't know either. "Do you think we should see Rai?"

Honestly, I wanted to go right into the kitchen (where I heard the voice from) and beat the living daylights out of the person who was there. How dare he come into another's house and wreck the place?! Now Flare's mother would have to tidy it up again! And she only did so two days ago!

"Rai? Are you listening?"

"Frost. I'll go into the kitchen first okay? Make sure to keep behind me." She nodded, and we put the agreed plan into action.

When we got to the kitchen, there was a man leering at me. I could tell he was trying to intimidate me, but it didn't work.

Anyhow, he wore a jet-black ninja-like attire that gave him a sort of shady outlook. On the chest, the piece of clothing had a round purple logo on it with the letter 'D'. I found it unpleasant, because it seemed to radiate an aura of malice—according to my sixth sense anyways.

"Why are you here?!" I growled, aiming to scare the man. I knew it wouldn't work, but I had to look fearless in front of him.

Slowly, the ninja man came closer. He got so close I could feel his breath! And even that reeked of evil... somehow... "I don't know. Why am I here?" he said.

I gritted my teeth in anger from his answer. Who goes to a place for no reason? This man was nuts. Or... was he just trying to avoid the question?

"But... you know kid, I have got myself a little something from this trip..."

That sparked my curiosity. What could this man possibly have gotten...? He stepped aside and gave me my answer. My eyes widened as I realized the 'something' he got: Flare and his mother.

"What have you done to them?" I demanded. Frost ran behind me cowering in fear. Maybe my voice scared her...? It didn't seem likely, because then she wouldn't be hiding behind me. I didn't know, but I returned my focus back to the man in front of us. He was grinning wickedly, and it sent a chill down my spine.

"I don't know..." the ninja replied. "But I'll probably torture the boy and... have fun with his mother."

I clenched my fists furiously, as the very hint of the suggestion made me sick to the core.

"You won't do anything like that! I will stop you!" I announced boldly.

"Alright... then let's settle it." I heard Frost gasp behind me as he revealed a pokeball in his hand. "If you win..." He pointed to the general direction of Flare and his mother. "I'll leave without those two." He then grinned, sending another chill down my spine. "Though if _I_ win... I get you _and_ your girl too."

I clenched my fists tighter, turning them furiously white. "You are never going to touch my sister!" I growled.

The ninja man smirked. "We'll see. Just get your Pokemon out already."

Without hesitation, I grabbed a pokeball from my belt and enlarged it.

"Wait!" said Frost. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

I slowly nodded. "Is there any other way to settle this?" Frost didn't reply to my question, so I turned back to the man. He had his pokeball enlarged as well.

"All right. You first boy."

I gripped tighter onto my pokeball and then tossed it. "Come out Volt!" The spherical object split and released my electric type partner Pokemon. A Pikachu.

"Pika!" it exclaimed, glaring at my opponent.

"Oh. So you've got a little feisty Pikachu I see..." mocked the ninja man.

Volt didn't seem to take it too well, as it almost fired a Thunderbolt at him. Luckily for him, I halted it.

"Just summon your Pokemon already!" I commanded.

The man smirked. "I'll do as you wish." He regarded his pokeball and then tossed it. "Let's beat this insolent kid!"

His pokeball split and released a tough-looking Mightyena. It twisted its head up and howled mightily to make itself look tough. _But..._ it could be all howl and no action for all I know.

"I think we should take this outside," I said. After all, I didn't want Flare's house to be crumbled by the end of it.

The man thought for a bit before agreeing with me. "Of course."

* * *

"Use Crunch Mightyena!"

The bite Pokemon charged in towards my Pikachu and I decided it was the right time to counter attack. Pretty foolish of me, as I didn't know the general strength of Mightyena yet.

"Volt, counter with... Iron Tail." _If only Pikachu could learn Counter... _I thought bitterly.

Volt transformed its lightning-bolt tail into indestructible steel and it charged towards Mightyena.

The two Pokemon soon met within attack range. Without wasting a moment, Volt swung its tail at Mightyena. The dark type cleverly ducked to avoid the attack and then countered with its own Crunch attack. Its teeth sunk into Volt and all I could do was watch as my partner Pokemon cried out in pain.

"You know kid, you're not as strong as I thought you'd be," said the ninja man. "If that's all you've got, you might as well give up now. With that strength you're not going to defeat me."

I gritted my teeth. I couldn't bear to hear this man's voice anymore.

"Volt, use Thunderbolt!"

My Pikachu sparked up its red cheeks as it charged up its attack, and then after gathering enough electricity fired a beam of lightning.

The ninja man smirked. "Pressing on? I'll make sure that'll be your biggest mistake!" He glanced at his Mightyena and then gave an order. "Use Dark Pulse!"

The Bite Pokemon opened its mouth wide and fired a beam of dark rings towards Volt.

I frowned. Was the ninja man really that confident in his Pokemon abilities? Did he really think he could bust through Volt's Thunderbolt that easily? It seemed like it, but maybe it was due to arrogance... I didn't know, but I did once the attacks collided. At first the two appeared equal in strength, but Mightyena's attack quickly overpowered Volt's and his beam of darkness began to push back the electric. Eventually, the dark type attack forced its way to Volt, and an explosion occurred upon contact.

The ninja man grew his smirk bigger, while I remained expressionless in my stare.

"And that's exactly why you should've given up sooner. You could've saved your Pokemon from so much misery."

The smoke covering the battlefield soon settled... and Volt was nowhere to be seen. I smirked, and the ninja man gasped in shock. "W-w-where did that puny mouse go?" he asked.

I glanced up towards the sky, and the man followed suit. Midway through a leap was my Pokemon partner, charging up electricity in preparation for...

"Thunderbolt!"

My Volt unleashed a yellow line of electric directly at Mightyena. All it did was wait for the attack to land—and it did. Smoke was dispersed all over the place as a result from the attack. I really hoped that Mightyena sustained some damage from the Thunderbolt, but when the grey clouds dissipated...

It showed that Mightyena didn't even obtain a scratch on its body! It was pure madness, or insane toughness—whichever.

"Was that your best shot?" inquired the ninja man. It sounded as if he was mocking me, which is what I'm sure he was doing. "Do you want me to show you mine now?"

I felt angry with the ninja man, but mostly towards myself. _How am I this weak?_ I thought angrily. Maybe I haven't trained enough? But that didn't sound plausible, because I battled Flare everyday...

"Mightyena, use Iron Tail!"

The dark type transformed its furry tail into indestructible steel, and then charged speedily towards my Volt. I didn't have any time to react because the attack struck before I realised.

This battle was going to be a tough one to win and I knew it.

"Follow up with Crunch!"

The Bite Pokemon jumped at Volt and chomped down onto its flesh. Firmly. The Pikachu let out a cry as another yet another attack chained.

"Dark Pulse!"

The Mightyena swiftly bounced back and fired a dark beam of rings from its mouth.

"Argh! Dodge it Volt!" I cried.

But Volt was still dazed from the last strike, so it couldn't perform a dodge at all. Because of that, I could only stand by and watch as my Pikachu was hit once again. At the same time, Frost came out of Flare's house (after checking on their conditions for an unusually long time...) and gasped at the occurrence.

"No! Volt!" Volt flew through the air and landed limply in front of me. It had scratches and marks all over its body; I knew this battle was lost.

"Rai!" my sister shouted. "There's no chance that you can win! You're just going to hurt Volt more by pushing him! Surrender now before he gets seriously hurt!"

I didn't want to give up though. I was never the type of person to give up so easily. Besides, for some reason, I felt that I still possessed a chance at victory.

"Let's finish this up Mightyena!" said the ninja man. The dark type howled in agreement.

"Alright then, use Hyper Beam!"

The Bite Pokemon opened its mouth and begun forming a reddish-white beam in front. As it was charging up, I bit my lip in hopes of Volt surviving the attack. I was aware that there was a pretty slim chance though, considering the condition it was in.

I didn't want to force Volt to continue battling—especially when it was on the ground with lots of scratch marks—but losing the battle wasn't an option.

_Come on. Endure it Volt... _I prayed.

Soon, the Mightyena fired the powerful beam and it scored its target dead-on, producing a large explosion that rocked all nearby trees.

I was left staring at the scene in shock, disbelief overflowing within me. How was it that a Pokemon could be so strong? Why was it so strong? I wondered. Have I been overestimating myself this whole time? Was I just a weak and feeble trainer in reality? But wait... that wasn't possible... I was just about the strongest trainer in all of Nuvema Town, as proven by the fact that I won last year's annual Nuvema Cup. How was it that another trainer could beat me so easily?

"You should give it up now kid... you have a zero percent chance of defeating me."

I glared at the ninja man across the battlefield. Did he really think I'd capitulate to him after all he's done? I didn't think so.

The dark clouds eventually settled, returning my long-distanced sight. I was thankful for that. But what I was most thankful for was the fact that Volt hadn't fainted yet. He was badly injured, but he wasn't down. I know I shouldn't have pushed Volt to keep battling, but I felt that I had no choice if I wanted Flare to be safe—and his mother, Frost and myself for that matter.

"Volt. Please tell me you can keep battling..." I muttered.

"Rai! Don't force Volt to fight anymore! He could really get severely injured if it keeps taking attacks like this!" Frost shouted worriedly.

"But Frost, I need to make sure this guy won't be coming back ever again!" I shouted back. "If beating him in a Pokemon battle is the only way, then I'm going to accomplish it!" Although, I didn't know whether I could even land an effective attack anymore. The ninja man was definitely one of the strongest opponents I've ever faced.

"Pika..."

Everyone present turned their attentions to the valiant Pikachu that was rising back from the ground. It really surprised me that even Volt wanted to continue fighting—in spite of its state.

"Pika...pika chu..."

With each second that passed by, Volt slowly got back up onto his four legs. Similarly, my hopes were rising in the same way.

"Maybe there is a chance I can do this..." I mumbled to myself. "Maybe-"

A circular glow of yellow light appeared on my arm and interrupted. Everyone gasped, me included. I was unfamiliar with it, but it seemed to me that the symbol of a lightning bolt was flashing in the center. Afterwards, what appeared on my arm was... Zekrom? I could've sworn that a symbol of the legendary flashed by.

"Rai?! What's happening?!" Frost asked frantically. "What's wrong with your arm?!" I couldn't really answer that question myself because I've never seen an occurrence like it.

"I don't know," I said.

"What! What kind of sorcery is this?!" cried the ninja man.

"I don't know," I repeated. "It could be anything."

Without warning, the light became brighter, and it continued to until the entire area was consumed by the light from my arm.

* * *

I opened my eyes to a huge and dark cave of some sort. I couldn't really see anything around me except for a few stone pillars on the far side—everything else was black. I couldn't even see the walls.

My curiosity arose though, and I began to wonder where I was. One thing for sure was that nobody else was here with me...

"Where am I?" I mused to myself.

"I-I don't know. Do you Rai?" To my surprise, someone answered me, albeit being a reply I was not looking for.

I pivoted around and found Frost looking around in fright. "Frost? You're here too?"

She nodded. "Yes. I guess I was transported here too."

"Transported?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"It's what I think."

_Indeed. What the girl thinks is correct._

I jolted in surprise, and Frost did too.

"Who's there?" I scanned the whole chamber (ignoring the darkness problem) and spotted a black dragon (didn't know how I saw it) flying down from... somewhere... To me, the dragon actually looked very familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before.

"Zekrom?!" squeaked Frost. It was then that I remembered the legendary beast.

_You are correct once again girl. _The legendary dragon flew down, and it created a powerful gust of wind as it landed directly in front of us. _I am indeed, Zekrom._

"S-so how were we transported here?" asked Frost, shaking quite a fair bit. You couldn't blame her though; we were in the presence one of Unova's mightiest dragons.

_Simple. By using my powers._

More questions arose in my head, and I was tempted to ask every single one of them. Of course, that would only serve to annoy the legendary beast... and I wasn't a fan of being electrocuted.

"W-where are we?" I questioned, unable to control the fear myself.

Zekrom answered simply._ The Legendary Emblems Chamber._

"T-the Legendary Emblems Chamber? N-never heard of such a place..." Frost said.

_It's at a hidden place in Unova. That's probably why you've never heard it. In fact, this place is only mentioned in myths and legends. You'll hear of it no other place._

"O-okay... but why have you brought us here then?"

_Well... it's about the boy and his glowing arm. _Right. Throughout this, I forgot all about my glowing arm.

"What about me and my glowing arm?" I questioned. Something told me... there was going to be something I wasn't expecting.

_You honestly don't know about it?_

"No."

Zekrom gazed up towards the chamber ceiling. _I would've thought that your master informed you about this already..._

"Master?" I asked. "He knows about this arm glowing business?"

_Indeed. His arm can glow just like yours._

My eyes widened in surprise. Just like I predicted: something unexpected.

"A-are you joking around with us?"

_I'm not. I'm simply telling the truth._

Frost stepped forwards, positioning herself between Zekrom and I.

"So then can you explain to us?" she requested, most of her fear now gone.

_Well I guess so. But you two must listen up, clear?_

My sister and I nodded our heads.

_Okay then _began the black dragon. _I'll start explaining. Er... Rai was it?_

"Yeah," I confirmed. _But how did he know my name?_

_Rai, what you see on your arm there is a legendary emblem. It is the glowing circle._

"A legendary emblem?!" I shouted.

_Precisely. It represents a legendary Pokemon and enhances the abilities of you and your Pokemon._

"Wait. Did you say that the emblem enhances my abilities?"

_Affirmative. It gives special abilities to those bearing them._

"Wait a minute," interrupted Frost. "So are there others we don't know that have it too?"

_Yes. There are quite a number of trainers actually, that bear legendary emblems too._

"And also, you mentioned before that an emblem represented a legendary Pokemon, right?" I asked.

_Correct._

"A-are you the one that represents my emblem?"

_Indeed._

At that reply, I almost fainted. Me? Bearing the emblem of Zekrom, one of the almighty dragons of Unova?

_So, this means that Rai possesses all my abilities, and can enhance the power of all his electric types too._

Only one thing went through my mind at that time. Cool...

_That is all I can say for now though. I have to get going. I'll leave the rest of the explanation to your master. _The legendary dragon spread its wings and prepared for a take off.

"But why are you leaving now? And how do we get our master to talk about it?" asked Frost.

Zekrom left the ground and flew into the air. _Just explain our meeting to him. _And within five seconds, the dragon disappeared from view.

Straight after that came another flash of blinding light from my glowing arm. The brightness eventually overtook the entire cave, and my sister and I were transported somewhere again.

* * *

The first thing I noticed after the light died down was the rows of trees in front of me. They looked quite familiar, but I just could figure out why...

The second thing I noticed was that I was sprawled out on the floor, as if I was previously knocked unconscious or something. It confused me a lot, as I wasn't actually sure how I ended up like that.

The other thing I noticed was the ninja man nearby. When I stood up, I pivoted around and found him staring blankly at me, his Mightyena doing the same thing.

"How in the world did you just teleport?" he asked. "Is there some sort of magic you are using against me?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in response. "No. Does magic even exist?"

"Then how was it that you disappeared and then reappeared with a flash of the light?"

"I'm not entirely sure either. But simply, it has something to do with this." I tore off my yellow leather jacket and showed to him my glowing yellow arm. The ninja man grunted at the sight.

"So you were the one I was sent to capture then..."

I smirked. "I don't think so," I said. "You won't be getting me when the power of Zekrom is on my side!"

I looked at Volt, and it nodded to me. It was the time to show the ninja man our true power.

"Volt, use Volt Tackle!"

The Pikachu I had leapt forwards into a dash. Building up the electricity it was generating for the attack and gaining momentum from the run, a veil of yellow began forming in front of it. The veil grew bigger and bigger the closer it got to Mightyena, quickly to the point where it seemed like an overload of electrical energy.

My opponent's Pokemon couldn't make itself react and was paralyzed in shock, only able to stand and watch as Volt closed in. Although, I couldn't blame it on the Mightyena because its trainer wasn't giving any orders either.

"Do it Volt!"

My Pikachu collided head-on onto the target. Grey smoke appeared from the attack and covered up the majority of the battlefield. From that, I knew that my Volt's attack packed quite a punch. I was sure that not even the toughest Pokemon could've handled that attack!

_Great. I finally scored a hit_, I thought triumphantly.

I was eager to see a fainted Mightyena lying limp on the battlefield, so I waited impatiently for the clouds of grey to disappear. As soon as the area became clear again...

I saw nothing but emptiness. The Mightyena was gone, and so was its trainer!

Distraught about my supposed victory slipping away, I searched around for where my opponents could've escaped. Around the corner of Flare's house, I spotted the ninja man retreating from the battle.

"Come back here!" I shouted to him. I wanted to pursue him so bad, but Frost put a hand on my shoulder to prevent me.

She shook her head. "Don't go after him. Just let him run off. He's probably too scared now to come back here."

I let my whole body droop in disappointment. "Okay..."

"Besides, we gotta go in and take care of Flare now. I'm worried that the ninja man might've hurt him..."

"I worried too Frost," I said. "But for now, go back home and call master. We'll need his help to get Flare and his mother over to our house."

"W-wait. They're coming to our house...?"

"Yeah. Their house is all rundown and things are all over the place. It wouldn't be a good place to take care of them."

"Okay."

* * *

Flare opened his eyes, and found me staring back at him. He jumped off the sofa in surprise, and fell down onto the floor doing so. A loud 'thud' emitted from our floorboards.

"Ow..."

I helped up my friend and he brushed himself with his hands.

"Rai," he said, looking at our surroundings. "Where am I? Is this your house?"

"Yeah, it is. We're in my living room," I answered, smiling.

"Why am I at your house for?!" Flare shouted unnecessarily loudly. "What happened?!"

"Alright Flare, calm down," I sweatdropped. "I'll explain."

"You better!"

So for the next few minutes, I spent my time explaining everything that happened. By the end of it, Flare was literally burning with rage; I was surprised the sofa he sat on hadn't burnt up yet!

"Where is that stupid ninja man?! I'm going to go to him and beat him to pulp!"

"Wait Flare. We don't even know where he escaped to. All we know is that he works for an organization with a round purple symbol and the letter 'D'."

"Exactly! That's all we need to lead us to him!"

"I don't think we should Flare. I doubt that he was even a highly ranked person in his organization. If that's true, that means that they'll be others that are way beyond his level..."

As much as I hated to admit, there were certainly trainers plenty stronger than I was out there, and I only faced one of them today.

"Yeah! But don't you have that emblem thingy that gives power to your Pokemon?! You said you had it when you told me about your battle just then!"

"I know, but what if it doesn't activate when I need it to? I don't even know how I awakened the power to be honest."

"Rai." I looked to where the voice came from, and saw Frost and my master standing at the other side of the living room. They both took a seat on a separate one-seater sofa and turned to me. It was weird, because they seemed to be pulling off every action at the same time...

"Rai, would you mind telling me all about that encounter with Zekrom earlier? Tell me everything he told you."

I hesitated. Should I really be talking about the matter so freely? I mean, what if there was a spy from that 'D' organization listening in to what we were saying? I know I was being a bit paranoid, but I couldn't help but think that somebody uninvited would hear in on what we were saying... someone in this room could've had a bug planted somewhere on them after all...

But maybe I was over-thinking things. There wasn't much chance that somebody would be outside our window or something listening in on us... no matter how much a person looked at it, it just sounded unlikely—possible but something not many would attempt. Though maybe this sounded more likely to me because of what that ninja man said earlier.

"_So you were the one I was sent to capture then..."_

Was there somebody that gave him that order? Why me? Was the organization he worked for aware of the existence of my powers? All those questions were floating through my head, worrying me to the point where I felt sick.

"Rai, are you spaced out or something?" waved Frost. "Is something else happening to you?"

I snapped out. "O-oh... I, um... yeah. I just spaced out a little."

_But I could probably figure out the organization's motives if I knew the answer to those questions... I just hope nothing huge is going to happen... or else I'd be forced to use my newfound powers to defend the world..._

"Alright then Rai. Would you mind explaining to me what Zekrom told you?"

* * *

**Review maybe? It will be appreciated :) I am sure there are things that are a little off, or things that could use some major improvement...**

**I hope this was somewhat good...**


	2. Chapter 2 - The Chosen Wind

**Here's the second chapter to this story!**

**I've realised that there is only one review and no follows or favourites for this story, but that'll be enough I guess. I just hope I rack up some more with the addition of this chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

"Let me get this straight. Legendary Pokemon select people to give them an emblem to; they are the ones who are destined to protect the world from destruction. The Emblem Bearers are meant to unite to defeat the evil, but so far, only two are known. I am the emblem bearer of electric, you are the emblem bearer of diversity (all types), and there are others—probably strangers that we don't know—who bear emblems of the other types. Is that basically what you've told me master?"

The master nodded his head to me. "That's pretty much the summary of it."

I took a few seconds to process it all. Having the situation I was in explained to me kind of gave me an idea of what role I had to carry out. So for all the emblem bearers to unite, I had to discover who each of them was first. The task I assumed sounded difficult, but I knew that if we were meant to save the world, we'd all gather up eventually.

"Okay then, master. As soon as Flare gets better, I'll bring him with me and we'll search for the other emblem bearers," I said. As much as I wanted to let destiny handle things, I couldn't just stand around and be useless either—especially if the world as we knew it was in possible danger.

"Wait master, I want to go with them too!" said Frost. "Can I please?"

Master smiled; it was the first time I've seen him do so in a while. Maybe it was because of her enthusiasm? "Of course you can Frost. As soon as Flare heals up from his wounds, you three are free to go out on a journey. Just make sure failure doesn't happen," he added humorously. We all laughed with him, despite it being something we knew was the absolute truth: we couldn't fail—it just simply wasn't an option.

"Oh. But don't forget Flare, you have to get permission from your mother too. Just because I allow you to go, doesn't mean that she will."

Flare grinned. "Don't worry master! I'm sure my mum will allow me to go! After all, it's to save the world isn't it?"

"But that is exactly why your mother mightn't let you. She might not want you getting caught up in something as big as this," said master.

Flare huffed, aware that he was correct.

"Alright then. I'll try to get permission from my mum tomorrow..." he droned. "But she better let me go! It sounds all exciting and stuff! I'm not going to miss out on something like this!"

We all laughed again but this time, it was because of Flare's behavior. He never liked being left out after all.

Suddenly, weariness took over me and I yawned softly.

"Guys. I'm going to go to bed now. I'm really tired."

"It's understandable! We _have_ been through some serious things today!" said Frost.

"Alright then. It's probably time we all went to bed then," said the master. "We'll leave the rest of the talking for tomorrow."

* * *

I groaned as the harsh rays of the morning sun hit my eyelids. I always hated that part of mornings...

Slowly opening my eyes, I got them accustomed to the world again. I looked around the room, and I realized that it was fairly messy. When was the last time I cleaned my room anyways? I mentally shrugged. _Who knows..._

Getting up from bed, I headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead. I stood in front of the toilet and did my business, and then brushed my teeth and washed my face afterwards. When I finished, I wiped my face with a dry towel and headed off to the kitchen for some breakfast.

At the kitchen table was the master, reading the morning newspaper with the assistance of his reading glasses. Noticing my presence, he looked up and nodded his head at me.

"Good morning Rai," he greeted.

"Good morning master," I greeted back. As I took a seat on the table and poured some cereal onto my bowl, I thought about the sound of master's voice today. It didn't some normal; it might've been that master came down with a cold.

"Overnight, I somehow caught the flu." Eh... I was close enough.

"I could tell by your voice master," I replied. "You sounded different today."

"Right. So then I was wondering Rai, could you go down to the store and get some milk for us? We seem to have ran out."

I didn't realize that what master said was right... until I became aware of the empty carton I was subconsciously trying to get milk from.

"O-oh... of course I will."

Master nodded. "So would you mind heading out now? It'd be preferable if you got back with the milk before Frost and Flare wakes up."

"Alright master. I'll be leaving now."

So I left my seat, received some money from master, grabbed my leather jacket from the coat hanger, and then headed out the door.

"Expect me to be back in about ten to twenty minutes!"

* * *

As I walked past the fancy house, I couldn't help but stare openly at it. No matter how many times I've seen it, those jazzy decorations on that awesome house always seemed to catch my attention. It wasn't that I was obsessed with the house... I just admired it. The front yard of the house looked spectacular all year round, no matter what weather it experienced. It was definitely a great asset of the house, but I wouldn't say that it was the best; the interior of the house looked even more amazing! With a huge kitchen, beds that flipped out from walls, and shiny floors that you could use as a mirror—who wouldn't be awestruck?!

But no, it wasn't that I snuck into the house and looked—I was actually allowed in there. My friend's auntie was just visiting her neighbour and we were invited to go inside too! Yes, my friend's auntie lived right next door to the most awesome house I've seen!

Wait... why am I going on about a house for? It's not like I'm a fan of really awesome spectacular amazing stunning houses. Or maybe I was... just a little bit though...

"Rai! You seem lost! What are you doing just standing there?"

I looked to the voice and found my friend's auntie looking at me in wonder. Was I doing something weird...?

"You looked like you were hypnotized by my neighbour's house!"

Oh right. I might've been...

"S-sorry," I bowed. "I didn't realise." Wait... why am I even apologizing? "I-I was just staring at the house as I walked by it to get to the store."

"To get some milk again I assume?" she laughed.

"H-how did you know?" I asked. _Did we really go to the store to get milk that much?_

"Just a guess," she replied. "Anyways, I've got to get the house tidy! I'm going to get a visitor later on! Have a nice day Rai!"

"Er... you too Ms-" But before I got to finish, a man bumped into me. Being the lighter one, I fell to the floor bottom first.

"Ow..."

The man hastily offered a hand to help me up. "Sorry kid..." he apologized.

I gave him thumbs up. "Don't worry. I'm fine."

I got up and glanced to my friend's auntie's house... only to see that she had already gone back in. Oh well, there was a chance I'd see her again after coming back. Anyhow, there was something I had to do, and I had already wasted some time standing around and staring—I couldn't waste anymore.

* * *

In the store, I located where the milk were being kept and proceeded to grabbing a carton—although, it took a while because the fridge door wouldn't open...

With a milk carton in hand, I lined up in front of the cash register to pay. Considering the size of the line, I was going to be at the head soon. That was good news. I didn't like waiting in lines that were too long.

Eventually, I moved up to the head of the line. I took a glance behind my shoulders, and found nobody else. _Oh well, _I shrugged. But soon, somebody came and stood behind me. I looked back and saw the figure of a tall man, wearing a long hooded black coat, which covered the entirety of his body.

For some reason, he seemed to radiate a dangerous aura...

I took a step forwards. I wanted to leave the line quickly.

Why was it that I sensed evil again though? Was it because he meant harm? Was he going to make his move soon? Thankfully, the cashier called me up to the counter so I could pay for the milk. It also gave me a chance to move away from the suspicious man—although I'd get a real chance after I pay for the milk. I was going to bolt out of the store and make sure I never saw the mysterious man again.

* * *

I had quickly paid for my things and I was out of the store, running with all I had to put as much distance as possible between the store and I. The carton of milk in the plastic bag I had swung all over the place as I made the dash, hitting some random passersby on accident.

"Oh, sorry..." I apologized. And although I did, I never stopped—after all, I couldn't afford to stop running unless I wanted the man to see me.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized once again as the milk hit another person. But this time, the voice belonging to her stopped me.

"R-Rai...?"

I was confused. Was it just my ears deceiving me, or did I actually hear somebody call my name?

"R-Rai... i-is that you...?"

I pivoted around and found a familiar face staring timidly back at me.

"Sky?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh-um... I was just on my way to visit my aunty..."

Oh Sky... as timid as ever. She had always been like that, whether she was talking to her friends or somebody else.

"Wh-wh-where w-were you h-headed to...?"

"Oh. I was just headed back home. Master told me to run down to the store and get some milk, since we ran out."

"O-oh..."

"Come on Sky. Let's walk together. We could use the time to catch up."

* * *

Sky... if I remembered correctly, she was exactly the same as the last time I saw her. She was still the shy and timid person I knew; she was still the quiet and soft speaker I knew; she still had her hair tied up in those twin ponytails; she still wore that red bow Frost gave her (as a present) on the chest of her sleeveless white frilly shirt; she also wore the same short black skirt with the small white bow behind. _Hasn't she changed since the last time we met (two months ago)?_ I thought. At least the clothing—she should've at least gotten rid of the skimpy skirt. Hasn't she realized how many guys tried to look underneath before? Well, I wasn't one of them—I wasn't really that type of guy—but Flare... he had already attempted in the past, and was slapped across the face by Frost once he was caught.

"R-Rai..." mumbled Sky.

I removed myself from my thoughts. "Yes?" I asked.

"H-h-has my aunty ch-changed since the last time I m-met her...?"

Quickly, I thought about the brief chat I had with her earlier. "I don't think so. She's still the same cheerful woman we know."

"O-oh... th-that's good..."

"Houndoom, use Flamethrower!"

I shifted my gaze to the left and saw a sea of flames headed towards us.

"Sky, watch out!"

I grabbed Sky by the waist and swiftly jumped out of the way.

The furious flames flew right past where we stood, thankfully not scoring a hit on us. I cringed, thinking about what would've happened if we didn't get out of the way. We'd probably be burnt crisp by now...

"Honchkrow, use Dark Pulse!"

_Another attack?_

I looked to the right this time and saw a beam of dark rings incoming. I wasn't going to leap away this time... I was going to try another way.

"Come out Electro and use Thunderbolt!"

I tossed the pokeball and out came my Jolteon. Immediately after release, the Lightning Pokemon unleashed a line of electricity, fending off the Dark Pulse and making a mini explosion.

"Great job!" I signaled this to Electro with a thumbs up.

I thought we were safe for a bit, but the attacks just kept on coming...

"Houndoom use Sludge Bomb!"

_Where are these orders coming from?_

"Electro, cancel it out with another Thunderbolt!"

The Jolteon discharged another line of electricity straight at the brown piece of gunk that was headed towards us, creating another mini explosion.

_That was close..._

To the left of us, I heard some rustling of the bushes. It put me on high alert. A man wearing a black hooded cape climbed out of the plant and revealed to me a grin; that was all I saw because of the shadow casted by his cape.

"Hello there, emblem bearer," he greeted. I sensed evil emanating from him... I was confused. Why was it? I wondered.

"R-R-Rai..." said Sky, grabbing my arms and retreating behind me. "D-do you kn-know him...?"

I clenched my fists and glared at the man. "No, I don't know this guy," I replied to Sky. "All I know is that he is after me."

"Indeed. We are here to capture you. You are a potential threat to our plans."

Sky squeezed my arm tighter. "W-we...?"

"Yes. We."

Just then another man stepped out from behind the bushes. As he stood and smirked at me, the Honchkrow (which I assumed was under his command) flew to him, landing on the ground beside its trainer. The hooded man's Houndoom did the same thing—except it couldn't fly.

"Fear us. We are the ones that are going to stop you from meddling with us in the future. You can either come along and get this over and done with, or you can create a conflict and try to fight your way out of something inevitable—yes, inevitable; you cannot avoid capture this time."

I smirked. "Do you really think I'll be that easy? If so, then you're going to have another think coming."

"Oh really?" asked the non-hooded man mockingly. "If that's what you're planning, I'd like to see you show us."

"Don't worry. I will."

"A-a-are y-you g-going to b-battle th-them...?" asked Sky.

I nodded. "Don't worry. I've can handle this." And I did a thumbs up for good measure.

"Alright kid, stop acting all tough and stuff in front of your girlfriend. Just make sure you're ready for this battle; it _is_ much more entertaining to have prey fight back after all."

"Sure thing," I said. _But seriously? Sky as my girlfriend? _I ignored that random assumption and began to focus. "Alright then. Give me everything you've got!"

My two opponents smirked.

"Let's go then." The non-hooded man gave the first order. "Honchkrow, use Aerial Ace!"

_A flying type attack? No problem._

Next, the hooded man gave his Pokemon a command. "Houndoom, use Crunch!"

Lastly, I gave my Electro a command. "Electro, use Quick Attack!"

As quick as lightning, Electro dashed towards Honchkrow. It was headed directly at the dark type's Aerial Ace, so I would've imagined my opponent expecting a clash.

Except, it never happened.

At the last second, the Jolteon swiftly weaved around Honchkrow, confusing it and leading it to immediately halt its attack. I smirked—it was all going perfect. Electro was actually aiming for the hooded man's Houndoom, just like I wanted.

Being caught off guard, the Houndoom didn't really have time to react to the sudden change. It was slammed full-force by Electro, sending it flying back a few metres.

"I'll admit kid... you're quite good. But, you didn't think that Honchkrow would be able to switch attacks very quickly, did you?"

Just then, Electro was hit on the behind by a massive dark force of black energy rings. The Jolteon was pushed forwards, making it hit a tree stump nearby.

"No... Electro..." mumbled Sky from behind.

"Ha! And you thought we'd be easy too! Now do you realise wrong you are?"

I grumbled in anger and clenched my fists tightly—to the point where my knuckles became white. Did I go ahead and underestimate _another _bunch of opponents? I thought.

"R-Rai... I-I'll help you..."

Sky stepped out from behind me and reached for a pokeball. I was shocked at her actions, never at all expecting them.

"S-Sky, what are you doing?"

"I-I want to help you Rai... I-I will help you fight these guys back..."

The pokeball in her hands enlarged.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Sky nodded.

"Houndoom, use Flamethrower!"

Suddenly, a blast of fire was blown towards us. I could tell that the men wanted to catch us off guard, but I was going to make sure it didn't work.

"Electro, fight it back with Thunderbolt!"

The line of electricity emitted crashed with the incoming Flamethrower—both attacks ended up canceling out.

"A-alright then. T-Togaru, p-please come out."

Sky threw her pokeball and out came her Togekiss, along with the release of bright white light.

"Hey! It looks like the girl's sent out her Pokemon too!" smirked the non-hooded man. "So this'll be harder than we first thought. Of course, not by much."

"Togaru, u-use Aura Sphere..."

The Togekiss placed its two wings together and began to form a blue ball of aura energy between them. Once the ball was big enough, the Pokemon threw it at Houndoom, scoring a direct hit on it.

"It was super-effective," I remarked. "I'm sure that would've dealt it massive damage."

"I don't think so," said the hooded man. "Does it look like my Houndoom minded?"

I gazed to the Houndoom and nothing seemed like it affected it. I was shocked.

"Wait. What?!"

The hooded man smirked. "The attack might've been super effective, but it didn't do much to my Pokemon. It shows how weak and pathetic you children are."

I gritted my teeth and glared at him. He was making me _so _furious with his words, I felt like exploding. Who did he think he was—Unova's champion? How dare he call me weak and pathetic? I trained everyday!

"Stop glaring at me and pay attention to the battle. Can't you see that your Pokemon are being attacked?"

He was right. I looked to Electro and it was being hit by a powerful Dark Pulse; Togaru was already downed by an earlier one.

"See? You should be focusing on the battle, not me." The hooded man grinned evilly, sending a chill down my spine. "You do want your Pokemon unharmed as possible, right?"

I glanced to my Jolteon, noticing that it had scratch marks all over. No matter what, I couldn't give up—what would that say about my confidence?

"Electro! Can you still battle?"

"Jolt... eon..." it responded weakly.

Was there any hope left for this battle? I didn't know then.

_I can't give up... I can't let these guys win... if I do, how is it that I'd be able to save the world?_

"T-Togaru...?"

Compared to the Jubilee Pokemon, I was doing miles better. The normal/flying type had a bunch of scratch marks everywhere—and the limp position it was in showed that it wasn't faring very well at all.

_Come on Togaru... don't let your trainer down... _I mentally prayed. _Get back up._

Despite my silent support, the Togekiss stayed down on the ground. I was beginning to doubt the fact that it could even continue battling.

"T-Togaru...?" Sky called out (murmured out) once again.

I felt sorry for Sky. I don't think I've ever seen any of her Pokemon _that _hurt before. In fact, I've never seen _anybody's _Pokemon hurt like that before. Were Sky's Pokemon undertrained? It certainly seemed like it.

"Sky," I said. "I'll take it on my own from here. Make sure you return your Togaru to its pokeball and get Nurse Joy to check it up later."

Suddenly, a glow came from somewhere.

I was shocked... It wasn't coming from my arm this time...

Sky's eyes grew wide with fear as she examined her own arm. On it, there was a circle emitting a bright mauve coloured light.

"W-what?!" the non-hooded man choked out.

"What is that? It can't be..."

"R-R-R-R-Rai, w-what's h-happening?" Sky cried in fraught. "W-w-why i-is t-t-there a-a c-c-circle o-of l-light o-o-on m-m-m-my a-a-arm?"

"Don't worry Sky. Nothing bad is going to happen," I smiled. _Great! Another emblem bearer found!_

* * *

The light died down and this time, we were on some clouds. Above us was the sun shining brightly, and a special pillar of light shone directly onto Sky, bathing her with its golden light. Below us were clouds, and only clouds—I assumed that we were transported to some place high in the sky.

It was quiet and peaceful—the perfect place for relaxing; add clouds into the mix and you had a haven.

I didn't know if it was just me, but I didn't really notice the light breeze blowing around until just then. It blew softly, and I closed my eyes and smiled. Why couldn't the whole world be as peaceful as this?

_Hello young ones._

My eyes snapped open, and I looked around to find where the voice came from.

"R-Rai... who j-just spoke...?" asked Sky. I almost forgot she was there with me—she was the reason I was there in the first place!

"I don't know," I answered. "But we'll soon find out."

_Do not be scared young girl. I am only here to meet you in person._

A Pokemon flew down in front of us, making its physical presence known. Instantly, I recognized the Legendary Pokemon: Tornadus.

"T-T-Tornadus?"

_Yes. I am Tornadus._

I could only imagine how frightened Sky was. She was standing right before a legendary creature. I was scared too when I first met Zekrom yesterday, so I completely understood why she was scared this time around.

"Tornadus. I am honored to meet you." I bowed respectfully to the Legendary Pokemon.

_And you are Zekrom's Emblem Bearer, aren't you? It is also a pleasure to meet you._

Compared to the black dragon, I noticed the huge difference in the sound of their voices. Tornadus sounded _years_ older than Zekrom.

_So young girl. Can you state your name please?_

There was a slight hesitation. "S-Sky..." she replied.

_Sky is it? What a nice name for a young girl such as you. I am glad that I chose you to be the bearer of my emblem._

"B-but why...? W-why me...?" questioned Sky.

_You are a timid one—that much is quite obvious. But I also know that you receive the will to fight if it is for your friends. I like that in a person._

"O-o-ok..."

_You see, you might not realise that you do, but you have a strong desire to help out your friends—or anyone if they are in trouble. We need more people like you in the world. The world will benefit if people like you were everywhere. That's why I need you, to help eliminate evil—which the world would go better without. Your strong will to help your friends will ensure that good will prevail over the destructive and evil. You will be of great help to push back the winds of bad; and that's why I have chosen you. You are the chosen wind._

I smiled throughout the whole speech. Tornadus sure knew what he was doing—that's why he chose Sky. I knew that with her on my side, we were bound to force away the evil. Because it was like what Tornadus said, _the strong will to help your friends will ensure that good will prevail over the destructive and evil._

"Uh-uh-um..."

_If you are really that speechless, there is no need to talk. Just promise me that you will use everything in your power to help get rid of the evil coming to threaten the land. You will even have my abilities in your possession..._

And just like that, the Legendary flying type flew off and disappeared from view. Immediately afterwards, the mauve light from Sky's arm glowed bright again, and we were transported somewhere again.

* * *

When the light died down, I realized that we were back at Nuvema Town—at the place where we were fighting against two men who were after me.

Before, they were acting all confident and that; now, they were so scared, I thought their eyeballs were going to pop-out. It was hilarious—I was mentally dying from the humor.

"Wh-wh-we were never told that we'd encounter two emblem bearers..." said the non-hooded one.

"We were not informed of this, and therefore, we were not prepared for it. We will retreat for now."

So the two men returned their Pokemon and ran off as fast as they could. This time, I didn't bother chasing after them—they weren't probably going to come back, despite what they had claimed.

"Great! They ran off, so we win by default!" I smiled to Sky. "Thanks for the help! It really saved us!"

"Y-y-you think...?" Sky asked.

"Of course! As much as I don't like to mention it, I would've lost already if you didn't assist me! And with you as one of the Emblem Bearers, I have no doubt that we will beat the evil!"

"Y-you shouldn't exaggerate t-that much..."

I smiled. As well as being timid and helpful, Sky was also humble.

"I am only stating the truth Sky."

* * *

"Sky! You're seriously one of the Emblem Bearers? That's awesome!" squealed Frost. "You'll be able to help Rai defeat evil!"

Master smiled and looked at me. "So you found another emblem bearer during a shopping trip to get milk... It's funny how things can turn out."

I nodded my head in total agreement.

"Yeah. I never expected it."

"I never thought it'd be Sky either. If you think about it, there was a small chance that another person we knew would bear a legendary emblem," said the master.

I nodded in agreement once again. "Yeah."

"But anyways, this means that we are one step closer to finding all of the Emblem Bearers. Once Flare gets better, the group of you can go on a journey to find the rest of them. I just wish you kids good luck."

I smiled and gave my master a thumbs up.

"Don't worry master! We'll definitely find out of the other Emblem Bearers!"

I seemed to give my master reassurance, as he smiled gently at me.

"Make sure."

_Yeah. I'll make sure! I won't allow the world to succumb to whatever is threatening this world—our world_.

"Oh. By the way Rai, what happened to our milk? Did you leave it in the kitchen without telling me?"

I thought carefully. Wait a minute... where did I leave the milk? I didn't have it with me ever since...

Oh...

The milk was burnt up...

"Er... um..." I laughed sheepishly. "Something might've accidentally happened to the milk... Can I go back and get another carton?"

* * *

**Review?**_  
_


	3. Chapter 3 - Fury of Ice

******The POV writing from the protagonist's point of view was only meant to be for the first two chapters. It means that this chapter onwards is going to be third person... probably.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

**Anyways, onwards with the story... I guess...**

* * *

"Have you sent them on their journey yet?" came a voice from the Xtransceiver.

A nod. "Yes, I have. They just left yesterday."

A man in his late thirties—wearing a butler uniform—was shown on screen smiling. "I'm glad to hear that," he said. "At least with their help, the princess won't be harmed in any way."

"Yes."

Brief silence.

"Alright then, thanks for your cooperation sir. Enjoy the rest of your day." The butler man performed a polite bow before the Xtransceiver screen went blank again. For a few seconds, there was a blank stare reflecting off the device. A sigh.

"I just hope they'll all gather up in time..."

* * *

After a tiring trek through the route, Rai and the others finally reached Accumula Town. They were all relieved beyond words, glad that their long travel had finally come to a stop—for now at least.

"Yes! We're finally at Accumula Town!" said Flare with a fist pump. "We can finally take a break!"

Rai looked towards the town's Pokecenter and smiled. As much as he wanted to continue travelling, having a comfortable and satisfying break sounded even better. A refreshing shower, a soft bed to sleep on (they all slept in tents the previous night), a roof above their heads... it felt good to have those things again. Not that Rai hated sleeping outside though—he just preferred the luxurious things accommodation offered.

"Come on Rai! Don't just stand there! Let's hurry up and book ourselves a place to stay!" shouted Flare. Without waiting, the boy sprinted off into the Pokecenter, leaving the others sweatdropping.

"Well then Rai, I guess we go after him, right?" spoke Frost.

Rai nodded. "Yeah."

* * *

As the door automatically opened, they stepped in, and were automatically brought into a bustling place. Everywhere, trainers were waiting (in line for their Pokemon to be healed), chatting (to others in the Pokecenter or across video phones), or preparing for their next journeys; if there were competitions for the most productive workplace, Pokecenters would surely take first.

"Guys! Over here! Hurry up!" shouted Flare from the other side of the building. Despite the busy sounds throughout the place, Rai, Frost and Sky were still able to hear him. He was over at the reception desk, waving his arms impatiently to catch their attention.

"Let's go Frost and Sky," gestured Rai. But before he could take a step, something in the crowd caught his suspicions. Quickly, he thought to go and investigate.

"Is th-there something wrong R-Rai...?" asked Sky. Rai didn't answer her.

"Go to where Flare is you two. I'll join up with you guys in a minute," he said instead.

"Wait. What are you going to do Rai?" Frost wondered inquisitively.

Rai did a thumbs up. "I'm just going to do something. Don't worry."

* * *

"So where'd Rai end up going?" Flare questioned once the two girls arrived.

"I don't really know," shrugged Frost. "He said that he was going to do something. That's all he told us."

"Oh, ok. We might as well book a room right now then."

Meanwhile, hiding behind a potted plant, Rai was observing somebody in the crowd. It was suspicious, he thought, since the man was wearing a black ninja costume—just like the one that guy from the other day wore...

_Now, all I need is that purple logo to confirm._

The guy, unaware of someone watching him, had (what seemed like) a photograph in his hand, and was talking to another person about something. After exchanging a few words, the ninja man walked off and spoke to somebody else, showing them the photograph that was in his possession.

Rai was curious._ What could he be up to? _he thought. The photograph seemed important, so he deemed it wise to try and find out what it was first.

Weaving through the masses of people, the ninja man continued to talk to others, showing them the photograph at the same time. Rai was getting increasingly suspicious. _What is that man showing to everyone? I must know..._

Soon, much to Rai's surprise, the ninja man approached him and displayed him the photograph (how he was found hiding was beyond him).

"Do you know where this boy is? Have you seen him around here?" the ninja man asked. Rai didn't even look at the photo. Instead, he glanced to where the round purple logo should've been... and found it.

_I thought so..._

The logo appeared different this time though. Rai couldn't really describe it, but he felt that the logo had eyes of it's own piercing through him with a dangerous glare. "Hey. Are you even listening kid? Have you seen the boy in this photo before?" The ninja man snapped his fingers to grab Rai's attention. Inwardly grumbling, Rai decided to take a look at the photo. It wasn't as if he'd reveal the location of the boy anyways—even if he had seen him—since he knew the man's affiliation.

But the moment Rai laid eyes on the picture his eyeballs almost fell out... It was frightening, yet weird at the same time...

On the photograph was Rai himself. The shot was apparently taken during his battle against the ninja man—when he awoke his emblem powers.

_What should I say? _pondered Rai. _This guy is asking around for me, and he's somehow ended up asking me without knowing! _The ninja man grumbled. "Kid. Kid! Are you still alive?"

Rai snapped out of his thoughts. "Yes. I'm still alive."

The ninja man pointed to the photograph—directly at Rai's face. He himself almost punched the man. "Do you know where this boy is? Answer me yes or no."

_Might as well say no. See how that goes._

"No," Rai lied, as nonchalantly as possible. "I don't even know who he is."

The ninja man scowled in return. "Alright then. Whatever..."

As soon as the man turned his back, Rai sighed in relief. It removed the tightness he was feeling in his chest, the fear that he was going to be found out. The breezy feeling when you just barely manage to escape something... Rai was experiencing it with pleasure.

_Great. I've somehow gotten out of that without being caught. Since I've already done what I wanted to do, I should get back to the others._

But from behind, Rai felt somebody lifting him up from his back collar. Looking down, he saw about a metre of air between his feet and the floor. The person must've been really strong... But there wasn't any time to be thinking of those little details! He had to escape as soon as possible.

"Argh! Who are you?" demanded Rai. "Let me go right now!" He thrashed about to try and pry away from the grip, but to no avail.

"I will not let go of you..." whispered a voice from behind his ears. "I was sent here to capture you. I can't go back empty handed now, can I?" The contact his breath made with Rai's skin sent millions of chills down his spine. It was creepy having an evil voice say something so close to you... "Now _Rai_, stop struggling. Be a good boy and come along quietly. I promise nothing will be harmed."

Even without turning back, Rai could feel the malicious grin coming from behind. What was going to happen? What was he going to do? Was he going to be raped? As much as Rai was revolted, he couldn't deny the possibility of it happening... So to prevent such an event, he was going to fight his way out.

Rai grabbed a pokeball from his waist and tossed it onto the ground. "Come out Storm!" Everybody in the Pokecenter shifted their attentions around as a giant Electivire emerged from its ball capsule. Even from the reception desk, Flare, Frost and Sky saw what just happened. They all glanced at each other with worried looks.

"That looks like Rai's Storm! It means that something's happening!" said Flare.

"We can't just stand around here! Come on guys, we have to go and help my brother!" said Frost.

Rai, utilizing all the strength that he had, attempted to break the grip that was had on him, but no matter what couldn't succeed.

_This man is too powerful..._

"Ha! I can't believe that a weakling like you could even think about saving the world! You're so pathetic!" said the ninja man.

At that moment, Frost and the other two emerged from within the encircling crowd. Seeing that somebody else was lifting her brother, the girl shouted. "Let go of him now!" Unfazed, the ninja man turned around and found himself staring at a teenage girl, who was furiously staring back. He laughed, finding the situation hilarious. "Do you really think that demanding me would work?" he asked mockingly. The grip on Rai tightened as he narrowed his eyes at her.

Frost clenched her teeth. "Maybe not! But if you won't, then I guess I'll just have to beat you up until you do!"

The ninja man grinned wickedly. "I'd like to see you try."

"Frost! Don't worry about it! I'll get myself out of this!" Rai shouted. He looked to his Storm, clenched his fists, and gave an order. "Storm, use Thunder on us! Now!"

The Electivire didn't move. It didn't want to comply with the order, because it meant that its trainer would be hurt too.

"Storm! I'll be fine, just use it!" said Rai, sounding desperate.

"No don't!" said Frost. "Don't do it Storm!" She scanned around the others in the crowd hopelessly, trying to seek out anyone who would help her. Unfortunately, nobody seemed willing enough. _Isn't there another way to get Rai out of there? Why isn't anyone from the crowd helping me?_

Rai thrashed about some more. "Storm, do it! I'll be able to withstand the pain, just trust me!"

"End, use Metal Claw!"

As suddenly as the command was issued, a Bisharp leapt out from the midst of the crowd. It was diving down with its two arms ready to strike.

At first Frost thought that another thug owned the dark/steel type... But when the attack missed the ninja by a hair, she realised that somebody in the crowd was actually trying to help her. Because of the efforts, Rai was released from the ninja man's grip.

"Great! He's finally released me!" said Rai. He got up from the floor and brushed his yellow jacket. "Now you'll pay for this ninja man! Get ready!" he smirked.

"So now it's a Pokemon battle, eh?" he grinned. "I don't mind. You're still going to end up coming with me."

"That's not going to happen!" said Rai. He looked to his Electivire, who sparked its arms to show its readiness.

"Rai! It's too dangerous to have a battle inside the Pokecenter!" said Frost. "Settle things outside!"

_That's true. We might get others caught up in the attacks if we fight here... _"Alright then, would you mind if we went outside to battle?"

The ninja man narrowed his eyes. "Do you really think that'll make a difference? It doesn't matter where we battle, you're still not going to win."

At this, Frost shook her head and sighed. _How many overconfident people are there in this world?_

* * *

"I'm not going to be holding anything back! Just make sure you can handle me!" Rai smirked as he gazed confidently at his opponent. There was no way he was going to lose! Or so he thought...

"Ha! Bring it kid! I don't think you have strength beyond my abilities!" said the ninja man.

Rai gave him thumbs up. "Don't worry! I'll show you!" _This move shall do!_ "Storm, use ThunderPunch!"

Quickly, electric began to form around the Electivire's fist. It drew back its arm and leapt in for the attack.

The ninja man grinned. It wasn't something he couldn't handle. He looked to his Sharpedo and gave a simple command. "Aqua Jet."

Swiftly, the Brutal Pokemon covered itself with water and charged straight into Storm's face. The collision was rough, and the Electivire was sent crashing onto the ground. A loud smash.

"You can't defeat me, no matter how hard you try," said the ninja man.

"That might've been just luck," stated Rai. "That was only one attack."

The ninja man grinned. "Well then, would you like to have another attempt?"

"Of course I won't say no to that!" Rai smirked. He looked to his Pokemon with determination. There was no way he was going to lose—it wasn't an option.

"Storm, use Thunder!"

The electric type built up electricity from within its body and released a large amount of it—in the form of a huge thunderbolt—towards its Pokemon opponent.

_Come on... I know that if I land one electric type attack, it'll be over. He can't fight back as effectively, so I've got the advantage in this!_

"Sharpedo, use Aqua Jet again."

The Brutal Pokemon once again charged full speed at the Electivire with a surrounding flow of water. _Is that Sharpedo actually charging directly into the Thunder attack?! _thought Rai. Given the circumstances, he would've used a Ground type move like Bulldoze instead...

But somehow, Aqua Jet seemed to work perfectly too. It was quick enough to swerve away from the Thunder, surprising Rai.

_B-but... h-how...?_

Just as Storm smashed into the ground and dust emerged, a Weavile charged forwards and slashed the Sharpedo with its darkened claws. Even though it wasn't very effective, it still dealt quite some damage.

_Wait. Who's Weavile just used Night Slash...?_

From behind, Frost tapped on Rai's shoulders and smiled at him. "Don't worry Rai! I'll help you defeat this bad guy!" she said.

"I didn't need your help. I was going fine by myself," he spoke.

Frost shook her head. "No silly! You were getting beaten by him!"

"It was only the second attack he landed. I would've been fine."

"Fine you say?" laughed the ninja man. "You were barely backing up the toughness you were displaying before. Let's just leave it like this and go for a two against one battle for now."

_But... I was going to defeat him on my own..._

"No Rai! You'll definitely be needing my help against this guy!"

The boy looked at his sister, surprised at how she was able to know what he was thinking. "You wanted to take him out on your own! Your face made it obvious!" she smiled.

Rai sighed. _Might as well allow her to help me out on this one..._

"Alright sis! Just don't hold me back, okay?"

"I certainly won't!" she replied.

The ninja man smirked. "Great. Now we can continue," he said.

Frost smiled and decided to make the first move. "Weavato, use Ice Beam!"

Swiftly, the Sharp Claw Pokemon opened its mouth and shot a ray of icy cold energy towards its opponent.

"Sharpedo, dodge it."

Quickly, the Brutal Pokemon moved out of the way and avoided the light-blue beam with ease. The ninja man grinned and prepared to give an order for counter.

"Ice Fang."

The Sharpedo opened its mouth and revealed to everyone its proud fangs. The whiteness of it had completely disappeared, and it was coloured icy blue from the surrounding ice. If Frost allowed it to hit, it'd deal massive damage to her Weavile. But she was going to try and avoid that.

She shouted her next order. "Weavato, dodge it!"

Her Weavile was about to jump to the side as a dodge, but it was too slow for the swift Sharpedo. It chomped down onto its arm before anyone could even blink. The dark/ice type cried in pain.

_I've got to attack back. I'll try to get Sharpedo off Weavato's arm_, thought Rai.

"Storm, use Brick Break!"

The Electivire quickly charged forwards, having its right hand glowing white from all the focused energy.

_It's going to be a powerful strike for sure_, thought the ninja man. _To bad it's not going to make its mark_. He grinned.

"Dodge it."

Immediately, the water/dark type latched off its foe and faced Storm; Storm was still charging at it with a glowing hand. At that point, Rai wondered whether he'd actually hit—he doubted it. Compared to Sharpedo, Storm was a slithering snail.

It was proven when the Electivire brought its hand down to inflict damage with the fighting type move. The Brutal Pokemon swerved to the side quickly and then dashed behind it, thus avoiding the attack. Noticing the position of his opponent's Pokemon, Rai became alarmed.

An attack was coming.

"Aqua Jet."

And before Rai even drew breath, his Electivire was on the ground.

It was all hopeless now, he thought. His chances of winning were nil now, no matter how much he'd try. Storm was just too tired, and admittedly, the ninja man was just too skilled.

_And I thought that I'd be able to beat him on my own... how stupid am I...?_

"Weavato, use Dig!"

Quickly, the Weavile dug a hole and leapt into it. Frost looked to the ninja man.

"You won't win so easily! I won't let you! You won't be taking my brother anywhere, got that?"

The ninja man just blinked. He blinked a couple of times. He then burst out in a fit of laughter.

"Are you kidding me?" he said. "You're a funny one little girl. I've never had anyone give me comedy like that before!"

Frost clenched her fists tightly as the ninja man continued to poke fun at her. She was angry, and Rai could feel an abnormal heat coming from beside. When that happened it usually resulted in a bad ending.

"Ahh! Frost is flaming!" shouted Flare from behind. Rai looked back... and remembered that they were standing there. He had completely forgot about Flare and Sky thanks to the battle.

"Hey little girl. I'm not scared of your flames. I'm not scared of your rage. Just try to get me if you can."

Frost grinned maniacally. Rai's eyes widened. When was the last time he saw her like that?

"I'll tell you what old man? You're the one that's going to be screaming like a girl once I've finished with you..."

The ninja man laughed some more.

"Yeah, yeah. I'd like to see that happe-"

A crash. The Sharpedo was on the ground with a giant scratch mark on its flank. Weavato was standing above it, leering down onto it.

"What happened...?"

"You want to know what happened? My Weavato just landed a Night Slash on your Sharpedo. That's what happened."

Rai grumbled. It wasn't Frost to be talking like that. She was usually a cheerful and nice person; but now her rage changed her. He knew anger could sometimes change a person, but not as much as it did to Frost.

"Hey Frost, calm down. Don't get angry like this; there's no need to."

"Rai, do you want this guy to stand over us like he's our superior?"

The boy was at a loss for words. She was talking like that to him too!

"N-no. Of course not."

"Good. So let me take care of things. I'll make sure he doesn't wake up ever again."

The hard stare Frost was giving the ninja man looked dead serious. _Is she really planning to kill him? _thought Rai.

Frost clenched her fists. "Use Ice Beam. And put everything you've got into this."

Weavato placed its paws together and began to form a bluish-white ball in between. The gathering of large amounts of energy indicated to Rai that she was going to finish this—both the Sharpedo and its trainer; merely the thought of it frightened Rai.

_Frost... Why...? _he wondered. _Why are you like this...?_

"Now! Destroy them!"

The dark/ice type stopped charging the ball and fired a giant beam of freezing cold energy towards its opponent. The ninja man, who was in the line of fire, smirked. He was unfazed by the incoming attack.

"Aqua Jet," he ordered simply.

Rai paled upon his words. Going head on against a full-powered attack like Ice Beam sounded like madness. Was the ninja man _that _confident in his Pokemon's strength? The previous Night Slash hit would've considerably weakened Sharpedo, right? Rai referred to the slash across its side. It was bigger than before if his eyes weren't deceiving him. Having taken that much damage, the water/dark type should've been severely weakened. All of that brought Rai to one question—was Sharpedo going to be utterly overpowered? Despite what the ninja man did to him, Rai didn't think killing him (or freezing him to death) would be the best idea.

He watched on as the two attacks collided against each other. Weavato's Ice Beam to Sharpedo's Aqua Jet. The force of their contact flew throughout the area in the form of a powerful blast of air, which almost blew Rai backwards.

Both sides seemed even, and none of either Pokemon looked like they were letting up an inch.

"Ha. If that's all you've got, I'm going to defeat you easily," smirked the ninja man. "You might as well just give up already."

"Shush!" grumbled Frost. "Your voice is annoying! I wish for nothing more than to demolish you right now!"

The ninja man raised an eyebrow. "But you don't have the ability to do that. Your Pokemon is weak."

Sharpedo ended up breaking through the Ice Beam and spearing Weavato with its water-covered body. The dark/ice type flew through the air like a ragdoll. It ended up smashing through a nearby building through a window.

Frost grunted. Rai furrowed his eyebrows, as he never heard her sound so furious before. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Don't be like this! What's gotten into you Frost?"

"Let go of me! I need to beat this guy to pulp!"

"You won't do that Frost! There isn't a need to!"

"Yes there is! He's after you Rai, and I need to help you!"

Rai paused in his tracks. Frost's words sounded awfully familiar to him. Where had he heard them again? Irritatingly, his memories wouldn't tell him.

"Ice Fang."

The ninja man's order reminded Rai that they were in the middle of a battle. He looked to Sharpedo, whose ice-coated fangs seemed to be putting off more chill then previously. He noted this, and wondered if Sharpedo hadn't been showing the full extent of its strength up to that point.

"Weavato, use Ice Beam!" shouted Frost.

The Weavile responded to its trainer's order and immediately got up and fired an icy cold beam at the opponent. Sharpedo effortlessly dodged it by swerving to the side, and then followed up with a cold and damaging bite onto its arm. The dark/ice type let out a cry of pain.

"Use Ice Punch now Weavato!"

Enduring the constant pain on its arm, the Weavile slugged its opponent with its frozen cold fist from the opposite arm. Sharpedo was sent crashing onto the ground with a cloud of dust.

"I'm impressed girl. You certainly have some skill, I'll give you that," said the ninja man. "After all, you ended up getting a clean hit on my Sharpedo."

"Be quiet!" snapped Frost. "I don't need compliments from you!"

"Fine then. Be that way. Use Aqua Jet Sharpedo." It charged at its opponent with a veil of water.

"Weavato, use Night Slash." The claws on the Weavile became black, and it charged at its enemy.

Rai watched on as Weavato's attack was avoided yet again, and he sighed in disappointment as the opposing Aqua Jet scored a hit. It was plainly obvious that Frost was throwing in random commands instead of thinking things through—even a little bit—to stand more of a chance of winning in the match. Her decisions were being influenced by her anger, and that wasn't good.

Sharpedo knocked Weavato through another window and deep into the nearby building. The ninja man ran in after them to follow through the action. Frost did the same thing.

Rai hastily returned his Pokemon and shouted to Flare and Sky. "Let's go after her! Hurry!"

The trio left the area and entered the building too.

* * *

They had only got into the building and Frost and that ninja man had already disappeared. Flare briskly looked down both directions of the corridor. There were no signs that anyone had passed through.

He grumbled. "How are we meant to know which way those two went?!"

Rai shrugged. "Let's just take a route and look for them. There wouldn't be much point in just standing here."

"True," Flare agreed.

Suddenly, a single thud was heard from a few floors up.

"I-I think that was them..." said Sky.

"Yeah. It came from a few floors up," said Rai. "How those two got there so quickly, I don't really know, but my questions aside, let's go up."

"But don't we need stairs for that? I can't see any!" said Flare.

"We'll look for them! Come on!" gestured Rai. "Let's go!"

After a minute of searching around, the trio located the staircases to advance upwards. They took them, and about halfway, spotted a round cloud of smoke form from above. It was the battle no doubt.

"They're on the fourth floor!" said Flare.

At that moment, an explosion took place and rocked the entire property. Sky almost lost balance and fell down the stairs, but Rai's fast reflexes allowed him to quickly grab her hand and save her.

"Are you okay Sky?" he asked once she regained her balance.

"Y-yes... th-thanks for saving me..."

"No problem. We need to get up there, so let's quicken the pace."

The moment they got to the fourth floor, an Ice Beam sailed passed their faces, missing the three of them by a hair. Sky remained immobile from the shock, but Flare just ran off after the battle.

"That almost got us," said Rai. "Thankfully, it didn't."

"Weavato, use Ice Punch!" came a voice from somewhere else on the floor. It was Frost's, obviously.

Rai looked around the current floor, and where he thought his sister's voice came from, which was down the corridor from where they were. He didn't see her—or the ninja man or Flare for that matter. All he saw was a cloud of smoke at where he assumed the battle was taking place at that second. Observing the inner building closely, he also noticed a pile of debris lying everywhere.

"Where are they? How can they move locations so much during a battle?" wondered Rai. "At this rate, the whole building will end up toppling on us because of how much damage its taken."

* * *

On the other side of the building, Frost was finding it difficult to keep up with the ninja man in battle. His Sharpedo was still very agile, despite having the battle last for a while now. On the other hand, Weavato could barely even stand, much less use an attack move—at that point, it was a wonder how they were still in battle. Nonetheless, Frost was still going to give the battle everything she had. They weren't going to be taken in by some organization; she wasn't going to simply allow that.

"Weavato, use Night Slash!" said Frost.

"Aqua Jet."

Sharpedo twirled around the Weavile's sluggish attack and struck back with a water-filled charge.

Weavato was blown back and sent crashing onto the walls of the building, breaking it down and tossing smoke and debris around the place.

How many times had her Pokemon smashed onto a wall already? Frost wondered. She had already lost count ages ago, but it seemed that there had been enough times for the smell of smokiness to stick around and linger. That was pretty much all her olfactory senses were picking up.

"Hidden Power," said the ninja man.

Numerous green orbs formed around Sharpedo and it fired them toward Weavato.

"Weavato, use Ice Beam! Pierce through the Hidden Power!" said Frost.

Weavato got up from the scattered debris and launched a lightning-like beam of light-blue energy from its mouth. The attack came into collision with Sharpedo's Hidden Power, but was easily overpowered and broken through. It left Weavato wide open for the attack to strike it.

"You have no chance. I've won it for sure," the ninja man said. "You've gotten boring. I should just finish your Weavile off right here."

"I don't think so! We can still go on!" said Frost. "Right Weavato?"

The ninja man smirked. "I think not."

With the energy Weavato had left, it couldn't even get up on its two feet. The dark/ice type lay face-up on a pile of debris, looking as hopeless as ever about the battle. What happened to its trainer, it wondered. She was acting vastly different to her normal self. Frost would never force a Pokemon to continue battling like this...

And at that moment, it finally hit her. The fact that she had not been acting herself and that she forced Weavato to continue battling despite its condition. She had been angry throughout the battle and as a result, the decisions she would've usually made were not the same. She had been rash, and had only thought about defeating the ninja man with a harsh end. But that wasn't her—not normally at least. There was no way she would possess any killing intent under any usual circumstances. It was just because the ninja man was after Rai, and what happened several years ago, that pushed her to be angry.

"I'm sorry Weavato..." said Frost. "I didn't mean to force you to keep battling... I was just really angry..."

"Ha. It's too late to apologise to your Pokemon now. You've been pushing it so much, I almost felt sorry for it." The ninja man grinned. "But I didn't. I don't show mercy to my opponents. It's not my style."

Sharpedo opened its mouth. "It's time for the conclusion of this battle," he said. "I'm going to finish this with the ultimate move." A reddish-white ball began to form in front of Sharpedo's mouth. "Hyper Beam."

The reddish-white ball of energy just grew larger and larger, to the point where it was about half the size of Sharpedo itself. "Your Weavile will not survive this attack, just to let you know."

Frost sighed. "I know..." she said. After all, she had already given up on this battle. There was no point in forcing Weavato to keep going when it was clearly defeated. That would just make the defeat much worse.

Frost sighed again. If only she didn't make such rash decisions under her furious will...

Suddenly, a light blue ray of light shone from somewhere. It was shining right across Frost's face, so she assumed that the light source was from a place close by...

"Frost! I finally found you!" said Flare, emerging from a nearby corner. Upon arrival he noticed something... "Your arm is glowing Frost! What the hell?!"

Surprised, the girl gazed down onto her arm and found the light source she had been searching for. There was a light blue circle, and a symbol of an ice shard flashed in the center.

"What is this?! What is happening?!" asked Flare. "Why is your arm glowing?!"

The ninja man grumbled. "Don't tell me you're one of them too..."

Frost was shocked. There was a glowing circle on her arm, and she had absolutely no idea what to do. A question was floating around in her mind though. Why her? She was baffled. It seemed like all she could do was to wait for the legendary to explain...

The blue light eventually strengthened its brightness until everything was swallowed by it.

* * *

The light died down and Frost found herself at an icy cave. It was chilly inside, and anybody would've found quite cold—too cold to try and even tolerate. But to her, low temperatures were nothing. Even with what she wore—a light blue tank top and denim shorts—she was still unaffected by the cold. The immunity to extremely cold weather was due to the time she spent outside everyday as a young child. Even with light clothing, she'd go outside and play around in the snow—much to her parents' chagrin. She never came back indoors until it was time for dinner, which meant about twelve hours each day outside in the snow, since she went out early in the mornings.

"Anybody here?" said Frost, her voice echoing throughout the cave. There was no immediate reply that came back. She simply stood around and waited until she heard something—which took around a few minutes.

_Hello there Frost. Welcome. _The legendary beast appeared from above (somehow), and flew down to the ground in front of her. _How are you today?_

Frost stared eye-to-eye with the legendary creature of her emblem. Its yellow eyes were gazing observantly, as if trying to grab information about her by just staring. It was probably doing that. Or not. It probably knew just about everything it wanted to know of her already.

_You haven't replied yet. Is everything all right?_

"Oh, um... yes."

Even when Frost had already encountered a legendary close up, she still felt the shivers when seeing one eye-to-eye. It wasn't an experience much people got to have, so needless to say, she felt honoured.

"I am good today Kyurem. Thanks for asking."

_My pleasure. But now we must talk about other matters._

Frost knew what they were going to be about, but decided to ask anyways.

"What matters are we going to talk about then?"

Kyurem closed its eyes, and took what seemed like a deep breath. _The state our world is in._

Despite knowing what it was already going to say, Frost still couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.

_Frost, with the powers I've bestowed upon you, I'd like you to help save the world._

Frost didn't know what to say, so she remained silent. It was one thing to find out that a friend—and brother—were Emblem Bearers, but it was a completely different thing to find out that _she_ was one.

_Frost. There's a reason I chose you to be my Emblem Bearer._

She had forgotten. That was a question that she was meant to ask. Why _was _she chosen? Frost listened up closely to what the Boundary Pokemon had to say.

_The reason I chose you is because of the ferocious will you possess to protect those you care for. At this point you seem to have trouble controlling your rage, but I trust that you'll learn to take complete control over your anger in the near future._

"You do...?"

_Yes. I have total faith in your capabilities. And although they are the main reasons I chose you, they are not the only ones. I know that you are also particularly friendly, and that you have good bonds with everyone you know—even if there aren't many._

"You mean it?"

_Yes. I do. Those reasons were enough to sway me into selecting you as my Emblem Bearer. I know that with you on our side, we stand a great chance against the evil coming to threaten this land._

Just then, a question arose in her mind.

"Kyurem. I'm always hearing that some sort of 'evil' will come to threaten this land. What, or who is it?"

_People who desire power..._

"And who are they?"

_Some organisation. They are out to retrieve something._

Frost nodded. "What are they after specifically?"

Kyurem sighed. It wasn't that Frost's questioning was annoying, but it was because it didn't know the answer to the question she was asking.

_I would tell you if I knew..._

The following moments were of silence. Frost didn't know what else to say/ask.

_Well I've got to go now. Something urgent is happening_, said Kyurem. _Bye for now, Emblem Bearer of Ice._

The glow from Frost's arm emitted, and the whole cave became consumed by the light blue colour. Everything around her disappeared.

* * *

After the light died down, Frost noticed that she was back where she was before being transported. Flare, who was standing directly behind her, stared at her in absolute shock.

"You're an Emblem Bearer too!" he announced loudly.

"Yeah," said Frost. "It was a great surprise to me too!"

The ninja man glared at her angrily. He did it as if glaring could kill. Why did there have to be another Emblem Bearer, he wondered. As if two weren't already enough!

"You!" he began. "You! Why is it that you have to be one of them?!"

Frost smiled. The ninja man twitched in anger.

"I've been entrusted with protecting the world! That's why I'm one of them!"

"Fool! You won't do such thing! I'll make sure I defeat you here and now! Aqua Jet Sharpedo!"

The water/dark type charged forwards with its body surrounded by water.

"Weavato, use Night Slash!"

Weavato sprung forwards with its black claws out and ready. It was going to use Night Slash—and it was going to _hit_ this time.

Seeing the determination in the Weavile's eyes, the ninja man decided to change things up a bit.

"Sharpedo, confuse it!"

So it changed direction. The water/dark Pokemon tried moving unorthodoxly towards Weavato to attempt to confuse it. It was pretty clever to do so, but not clever enough against an Emblem-enhanced Weavato, who foresaw where Sharpedo was going to charge in from and slashed it with its claws before it attacked. The Brutal Pokemon winced. Weavato followed up with a powerful Ice Punch onto the flank of its body, which sent it crashing onto the building floor below. Tile pieces were flung everywhere, and one happened to slice the ninja man across his cheek. Luckily for him though, the cloth of his ninja mask shielded his skin, and was cut instead.

"Alright Weavato! Use Ice Beam!"

Weavato placed its paws together and began to gather blue energy into a ball. Once the ball was charged enough, a light blue beam of ice was released and fired toward Sharpedo.

"Sharpedo! Dodge it!" the ninja man cried frantically.

But since it was on the ground hurting all over the place, the Sharpedo couldn't. Ice Beam struck the water/dark type directly onto its face, freezing it up and fainting it at the same time.

Soon after, Frost's legendary emblem lost its glow and died down. Rai and Sky appeared from around the corner, only to find the area of the building in a giant mess—and Frost and Flare.

"Frost! Flare! We finally found you guys!" said Rai. He then noticed the frozen Sharpedo on the ground a few metres away. "Did Frost win the battle or something?"

"Yeah!" Flare answered. "She's the Emblem Bearer of Ice! She just used the power of it to beat that ninja guy!"

Rai was surprised. "Frost is the Emblem Bearer of Ice?"

"Yeah. My emblem awakened during the battle just then," said Frost.

Rai noticed something else. Frost didn't sound angry anymore—neither did she talk to him in the tone of voice she used before. But, just in case, he searched for the ninja man. He found him staring blankly into space, on his knees and with clenched fists.

_Great. She didn't end up killing him... _he thought in relief. But he wondered, why was the ninja man mumbling to himself for? And what was he mumbling about?

"How dare she beat me like that..." the ninja man repeated to himself. "How dare she beat me like that..." With the outcome of the battle, there was nothing at all that could describe his embarrassment. One minute, everything seemed to be in his favor; the next minute, the emblem was awakened and he was defeated...

He wasn't going to let this slip by like that. There existed failures that could be let past, but this one wasn't one of them.

Anger flowed throughout his body. His blood felt boiling. He unleashed all of his fury and smashed the ground with his tightly packed fists. "You're not going to get away with this! I will avenge this loss, just you wait girl!"

* * *

Above the roof of a nearby house, a boy had watched everything through binoculars with mild interest. He smirked to himself, set down the tool, and took a bite of his cookie.

"Bisharp!"

The boy looked to his Pokemon. "You did well End... It looks like we've helped out the right people..."

His Pokemon nodded. "Bisharp!"

The boy took another bite of his cookie.

"I think those guys know what's going on with the Emblems... don't you think...?"

"Bisharp...?"

"I mean... that boy bears the legendary emblem of electric... we caught a glimpse of it on a photograph before... and that girl just awoke her emblem of ice..."

"Bisharp!"

He nodded and finished the remainder of his cookie. "I never expected to find another Emblem Bearer so soon... This is turning out good thus far..."

"Bisharp!" his Pokemon nodded.

"Hopefully in the near future... I'll be able to find out of my purpose..." And an eerie glow of black light shone from a point on his arm.

* * *

"You know, I just hope that we don't have to pay for the damages to that building," said Flare. "It wasn't our fault after all! That guy was trying to get you Rai! We were just trying to fight him off!"

* * *

**Reviews?**

**If there are any mistakes or ways to improve this, please don't hesitate to inform me :)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Rain Storm

**I've finally done this chapter! This is where it gets slightly more interesting, I guess...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

**Also, thanks to the people who have reviewed this story so far :)**

* * *

Lightning crackled in the distance, splitting the air above and unleashing its fury onto the ground below. Thunder roared, sounding its violent wrath throughout the land for everyone to hear. The cold rain poured, torturing those without shelter by the uncountable number of droplets falling from above. Rai, Flare, Frost and Sky were one of the many who endured the downpour. They were on their way to Striaton City when clouds began to dominate the sky, precipitating soon after. As they haven't reached their destination yet at that point in time, the four weren't given any other options than to hack it. Of course, as unforgiving as the cloudburst was, Sky quickly caught a minor cold, and it prompted the quartet to arrive at Striaton as soon as possible. The continuous rain had been going on for two days already, and it displayed no signs of ceasing anytime soon—that was another reason for hustling to the next city, unless they wanted somebody else to fall ill.

"Come on guys! You're too slow! Let's hurry it up!" shouted Flare, standing a fair distance away from the other three.

Sky covered her face and sneezed.

"We're trying to Flare, but this is as fast as we can go without leaving anyone behind!" Rai shouted back.

"Well then try harder! I don't want to get a cold you know!" said Flare.

And as if on cue, Sky brought her face down into her hands and sneezed again.

_We should've brought umbrellas_, thought Rai._ How did end up forgetting something as important as that?_

* * *

As the unforgiving storm raged on outside, a man entered an abandoned home made of wood. Inside it was dirty, dark and smelly with a heap of destroyed things sprawled about in one corner. At another were a cluster of rubbish bags ripped open and revealing its contents of moldy food items. Flies buzzed around and walked along the pile, content about the sheer amount of food made available to them. Near the other two corners of the room were small leakages. Holes on the roof allowed the ongoing downpour to breach the interior of the house and create puddles on the floorboards below.

The man shook has head and grumbled. There weren't any other shelter nearby so he forced himself to put up with the obnoxious home for cover.

Ignoring the unpleasant odor lingering in the air, he found an empty spot towards the back of the room and crouched there carefully. He searched the back of his pants for his Xtransceiver and grabbed it out. He switched it on and selected the desired contact. A brief wait, and then a face popped up.

"I assume the children are at Striaton now?" The voice owner furrowed her eyebrows and glared.

"I don't know," the man replied back. "I lost them on the way."

The woman on the other side of the line contemplated. "It's fine," she finally spoke. "They'd probably be close. By tomorrow they're sure to be here, and that's when we'll start it up."

The man nodded. "So what would you like me to do now?"

"Come to Striaton. Meet us near the entrance to Dreamyard at twelve midnight."

* * *

It was morning—time for waking up in other words. Rai pried open his eyelids and firstly got them accustomed to the light in reality before rising out of bed and gazing out the window. The Pokecenter they were staying in offered a decent in-depth view of Striaton City, as it was located close to the middle of town where many of its activities took place at. Despite the fact that it was seven-thirty in the morning, many people were already bustling about through the streets of town.

"The rain from yesterday seems to have gone," Rai muttered to himself. "That's good. We won't be getting wet anymore."

From behind, Flare's groan came in loud and clear. Rai turned around to see his best friend stretching out of bed with a dead look in his eyes.

"You're looking quite tired Flare," he said. "Did you stay up late last night?"

"_This morning_ you mean," corrected Flare. "I couldn't sleep until two a.m."

"That's bad..." muttered Rai.

"Yeah, tell me about it," mumbled Flare, who tried to roll his eyes but couldn't.

"Sleep in if you want," said Rai. "We're not going to leaving town today."

"Why not?" asked Flare. "Shouldn't we be travelling through Unova as quickly as possible?"

"Well Frost said she wanted to do some sightseeing, and Sky agrees. They claim that they wanted to look around since they've never been here before, and I guess it sounded reasonable."

Flare sighed. "Whatever then..." He hopped back onto the bed and covered the quilt around him. Rai smiled as he walked into the bathroom.

* * *

The brightness was harsh. Flare opened his eyes, only to squeeze them shut again when he found the light too unbearable.

"Who turned the room so bright...?" he groaned, getting up and shielding his eyes as he reopened them. Flare glanced out the window from his position and attempted to judge the time.

_Wait. Shouldn't there be a clock in this room somewhere?_

Flare searched the space for a time-telling machine and stopped when he found a wall clock hanging above the exit of the room. According to it, the time was about twenty to twelve. He froze.

"Wait a minute! Why did I sleep in for so long?! This is crazy!" he hollered.

Flare immediately jumped out of bed and proceeded into the bathroom. He spent the next ten minutes quickly getting prepared for the day, and then rushed downstairs to look for his friends.

At the breakfast room, everything was dead quiet. Nobody was there, and nothing was going on. Flare glanced around and found something. Sitting on the breakfast table was a white piece of paper with writing scribbled onto it. The boy picked it up and read it.

_Flare,_

_By the time you read this, it would be close to twelve o'clock. If I'm right, just skip breakfast and come over to the Striaton Restaurant (it used to be the Striaton Gym)._

_Frost ;)_

"Alright, so I should get going now to that restaurant," Flare said to himself. "But how'd she know I'd be up around this time?!"

* * *

"Do you really think Flare would be up around this time?" asked Rai as they stood around the restaurant. "I mean, you only guessed it, didn't you?"

"There you guys are!"

Flare ran up to his three friends as they spun around. "I was told to come to this place on the note Frost wrote to me! How in Arceus' name did she know when I'd wake up?!"

Rai widened his eyes in shock, turned to Frost, seeing her smirking back at him.

_Is she a psychic...?_

"No I'm not a psychic Rai. I know you enough to know what you're thinking."

Rai's jaw dropped, and Frost giggled as she led everybody into the Striaton Restaurant. Inside, the whole group gasped as they observed the entirety of the place. Rows of circular dining tables filled the space, each with a long piece of white cloth neatly draped over and a cylinder of burning candle in the center. Many little square light-bulbs decorated the nicely patterned cream walls, illuminating the relatively dark room with their bright shines. Exquisite potted plants stood at each corner of the place and added to the overall rich look of the restaurant. Even the carpet they stood on was red and soft, and looked quite expensive as well.

"Wow! Are you sure this isn't a restaurant for wealthy people only?" asked Flare.

"I'm sure," replied Frost. "In fact, they actually offer free meals here. Neat huh?"

It was Flare's turn to drop his jaw.

"WHAT?!"

The whole restaurant went silent and stared at Flare. He stood and smiled sheepishly, embarrassed about all the attentions he attracted. "Sorry guys!"

Everyone turned back to their meals as somebody came up from behind.

"You people seem new to this restaurant!"

The four turned back to a green haired man beaming at them.

"Excuse me but who are you?" asked Flare.

The man performed a polite bow. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Cilan, a waiter here at this restaurant. If a table for four is what you're looking for, then that spot over there is the perfect place to sit at." He pointed over to an unoccupied table with four surrounding seats.

They all headed over to that table and sat down. "Now is there anything you guys want?"

"I'm starving! I'd like the most fulfilling thing on your menu!" said Flare.

"Alright," nodded Cilan, jotting down the order on his tiny notepad. "Anyone else?"

"Do you guys have a little pamphlet with a list of everything on your menu?" inquired Rai.

"Well of course! Here you go!" Cilan pulled out a copy of the menu and handed it to Rai. He thanked him and began to skim through the list of available food orders.

After taking everybody's orders, Cilan left the table in order to have the meal prepared. The wait was long (Flare got extremely impatient), but eventually the food arrived and the group began to feast.

By the time everyone finished, it was almost half-past twelve. They all sat with smiles on their faces, satisfied with the food they ate. Flare was the exception—he was groaning endlessly.

"I think I ate too much..." he whined. "I can't even move from my seat!"

"Well that's your fault for eating too much," giggled Frost. "It looks like you ate more than you can handle!"

"So," said Cilan as he approached. "Did everyone enjoy their meals?"

"Y-yes..." responded Sky.

"Yeah!" said Rai. "It was really good! I'm definitely coming back to this restaurant!"

The green haired man smiled. "I'm glad to know!" he said. "It makes me happy knowing that people enjoyed their meals here!"

Flare groaned abruptly.

Rai promptly smirked. "Don't worry. It's not that Flare didn't like it, because he did. He just ate an excessive amount."

"Alright," laughed Cilan. "I'm glad to know that."

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Very good..."

It was at a dark alley somewhere in the streets of Striaton City. A group of people wearing black uniforms stood throughout the narrow area on standby. Each had the letter 'D' on their uniforms, showing that they were all part of the same organization.

The woman, who was in charge of the particular operation, grinned as she observed her watch. According to the device, it was only one minute till the initiation of their plan.

"We've only got one more minute left," she said. "Be prepared. I'll be giving you the signal to trigger the explosion shortly."

The lackey nodded and mustered up all his focus.

_This is perfect... We're bound to lure out those kids..._

* * *

"So what are we going to do now?" asked Flare. "Are we going to do some sightseeing?"

"You weren't this excited about it before," said Rai with a raised eyebrow. "Did something happen?"

"I'm just in the mood now! That's all!"

"Er... okay..."

"S-so wh-where are we going f-first...?" asked Sky.

"Let's go to the hedge garden on the west side of Striaton City!" bubbled Frost. "I want to see the Pikachu-shaped hedges!"

"Okay then, so let's-"

_**BOOM!**_

The entire city rocked uncontrollably as if an earthquake struck. Shrill screams erupted from various spots in the city and chaos and disorder came into play. Many ran off to the direction opposite to where the explosion came from.

Rai got up and checked everyone's condition. Flare and Frost were all right, but Sky had lost her balance and fell onto the ground.

"Are you okay Sky?" he asked, offering a helping hand.

She nodded gratefully and accepted it. "Y-yes... I'm okay..." And then she sneezed.

"Bless you."

"Did someone set off an explosion or something?" wondered Frost. "Why would somebody do anything like that?"

"I don't know, but it must be those people that are after you guys!" said Flare.

"Everyone here is in danger!" said Rai. "You guys, get to safety! Get out of this city! I'll go around town telling people to evacuate!"

Frost furrowed her eyebrows. "But Rai, shouldn't you just leave that to the police force?"

"I can't! People will get hurt if they don't leave quickly! What if more explosions happen-"

_**BOOM!**_

More terrified screams split the air as a stampede of people ran off to the south.

"That's it! I'm going!" grumbled Rai. "Escape from the city guys!"

"Rai! Don't go off on your own!" called out Frost. But the boy ignored her and ran off. He disappeared within seconds.

"Rai went off on his own! I'm doing that too!" declared Flare.

"No. You're not going anywhere," said Frost sternly. "You'll be coming with us and helping us look for Rai."

He sighed. "Okay then..."

In the midst of all the chaos, a girl suddenly appeared beside them and stopped. "Yo! Have any of you seen my sister?" she asked in a panicked manner. The sweat trickling down from her forehead showed that the girl had been running around a lot. She wore torn jeans and had disheveled caramel hair like a lion just mauled her. Surprisingly, her white shirt looked neat and intact.

"Um... can you describe your sister?" asked Frost.

"She has long black hair and wears a blue bow on her head."

Flare crossed his arms together, and he nodded his head compliantly at the girl.

"We'll make sure we look for her on the way. But apparently we're looking for our friend too!"

"Oh, alright then. Thanks."

The girl was about to run off when she remembered something else. "Hey, can we swap Xtransceivers for now? So if you find my sister first you can call to your own?"

"Sure thing!" said Frost. "Here."

So the two girls swapped devices.

"We'll switch back after this," said the other girl. And with that she bolted off south.

* * *

_**BOOM!**_

_Is it just me or are the explosions getting more powerful? _thought Rai.

"Everybody!" he shouted. "The whole city is being terrorized! Evacuate and get to safety!"

Those nearby who were able to hear him over the screams and shouts complied. Others continued to run amok among the mayhem and confusion, panicking about what to do.

_I can't get every person to hear me. It's too noisy._

Rai felt that he couldn't do it, though he wasn't going to give up yet. There had got to be a way to get everyone to safety, but what?

_**BOOM!**_

Grey smoke originated from a building close by and the crowd within radius increased the pitch of their screams. Slowly, the damaged construction began to lean over to the side, casting a deep shadow where its entire body was due to fall on.

"Watch out!" yelled Rai. "Move out of the way!"

He quickly reached for a pokeball and tossed it. "Lightning, come out and form a giant web!"

In a bright flash, Rai's Galvantula emerged and shot out a sturdy web to delay the total collapse of the building. It didn't last very long, but it was certainly enough to save the remaining stranglers from becoming flat human pancakes.

"Great! Now that this area's cleared, I've got to find other people who are still in the city!"

He returned his Lightning into its pokeball and then ran off west towards the hedge garden in the distance.

Upon arrival, he glanced around the place and his eyes landed on the majestic hedge sculptures shaped like Pikachu. The way they cut it looked so magnificent, almost identical to the real species—though the size and the colour were different, obviously.

"Nobody looks to be here," mused Rai. "They all must've gone off earlier. That's good."

But what he noticed soon enough was that there was a girl sitting near the edge of a nearby lake. She smiled to herself as she dipped her finger into the clear water.

_Now how did I miss her? _Rai wondered. "Excuse me! Miss! You have to get out of town! It's not safe!"

She didn't reply; she didn't even look back. Rai furrowed his eyebrows. "Miss! You have to get out of the city now! Dangerous things are happening!"

That time worked. She slowly turned around and smiled at Rai gently, her long black hair moving gracefully behind her.

"Sorry. Can you repeat that once more?" she asked calmly.

Rai was captivated. She was such a pretty girl. The way her dark hair fell over her shoulders was simply beautiful. The kind dark brown eyes she stared with showed a lot of compassion, and the lips she smiled with looked perfect. The blue bow she wore stayed daintily towards the fringe of her hair, coupling greatly with the kind expression she had.

Rai struggled to muster up the words to speak. He had been so absorbed in staring at the girl that he didn't hear what she said himself.

"Um, pardon me. Can you say that again?"

"I just wanted you to repeat what you said to me before. It was something to do with the city?"

"Oh, right," said Rai. "I was just telling you to leave this place because it's getting dangerous."

"Dangerous? What's happening?"

"Explosions. They are occurring all around the city. I need you to get out of this city for your own safety."

* * *

Behind some bushes close by a man observed the two children. He grinned maliciously, thinking about how accomplished he'd feel after capturing them; especially when one of them was an emblem bearer. His boss would hold high regards if he could capture one solo.

As sudden as a scare, his Xtransceiver rang. The man jumped a little, and sighed as he reached behind to answer the incoming call. Looking at the device screen, he realised the call was from the chief of their current operation.

The man grumbled before he accepted the call.

"Where are you?!" snapped the woman as she appeared onscreen.

"I'm going to battle one of the emblem bearers," he replied angrily.

"What?! Are you doing it alone?"

"Yes. I don't want anyone to help me. I want to feel the satisfaction of capturing an emblem bearer by myself."

"Don't be a fool!" growled the woman. "Tell me where you are so I can send reinforcements to back you up!"

"No! I won't have anyone interfering with my sweet revenge! Stay out of this while I settle things with him!"

He furiously cut off the communication and grabbed out a pokeball from his pokemon belt, leaving the woman from the other side of the line in a temper.

"I will get my revenge!" the man snorted. "And I won't let anybody get him first! This catch is mine and mine alone!"

He leapt out from behind the bushes and glared at Rai. Upon spinning around, the boy flinched under the furious gaze he sent. He had never seen anybody so angry before. The irate glint he held bore in his eyes was so great, it was comparable to an enraged bull's. Rai felt the effects of it before anything even happened.

"You! The kid from Nuvema Town!" seethed the man from the bush. He pointed a forceful finger at Rai. "This time, I won't run away! I promise I'll get you for that time!"

"Wait a minute. Weren't you one of the two guys that attacked Sky and I?" Rai realised.

"Yes! I'm here for a little payback! I'm going to make sure I succeed in my mission this time!"

At that moment, Rai's mind switched into battle mode. "Well I'll tell you what? You won't!" he smirked. "I assure you that you'll be sent packing like the last time!"

"I don't think so! You're the only emblem bearer here! I can handle one of you easily!"

"Then do it!"

A pokeball enlarged in the man's hands. "Alright then! I'll scare you off this time with this!" He threw the sphere forwards and out came a daunting dark dragon.

Rai braced himself. This time he was going to battle a Hydreigon, a powerful dragon type with the ability to learn a move of every type save for grass. One thing was for sure—it wasn't going to a breeze.

_Seems like I'm going to __**have**__ to give everything I've got! If not I might not make it!_

Suddenly, a Milotic emerged from a pokeball in front of Rai. It spun and poised itself gracefully in anticipation for the battle. The girl walked forwards and stood beside him. She formed a slight upward curve with her lips.

"I'd like to help too. I can tell that man's a bad person."

Rai appreciated the thought, but he couldn't let the girl fight _his_ battle.

"Don't you want to get out of here?" he asked. "It'll be a better option."

_**BOOM!**_

Another explosion came from the city. The force of it rocked the surrounding area. Buildings came crashing down and resulted in a messy heap on the ground.

The evil man smirked as he watched it happen.

"I've decided. I'll help you first," said the girl. "If we combine our powers, we'll finish it much quicker."

Rai thought for a moment and then nodded. "Okay. Let's do this then." He gripped at his pokeball and tossed it. "Come out Storm!"

With a bright flash of light, his Electivire appeared from its pokeball. It sparked its fists, charged its tails, and it gazed fearsomely at its dragon opponent.

"Electivire!" it growled.

"I'll admit that your Electivire looks tough," observed the man. "But my Hydreigon won't be losing!"

"We'll see," said Rai. "Storm use Brick Break!"

The electric type lined up its fingers and charged forwards with a glow emitting from its hand.

"I see. Using a super effective move to try and win this huh? Hydreigon counter it!"

Complying, the dark/dragon type opened its three mouths and fired a beam of dark rings out of each. The Electivire wasn't given enough time to react and ended up flying backwards onto the ground.

"Storm!" shouted Rai. _This Hydreigon is really strong! Even with just one attack I can tell!_

"Rain, use Ice Beam."

The girl's Milotic bent upright so that its head rose to a height, and it loosened a light-blue beam of freezing energy from its mouth. Their opponent smirked at the attack.

"Hydreigon, use Fire Blast!"

The brutal pokemon widened its three mouths and shot a combined stream of orange fire to break through the ice move. As it travelled through the air, the flames formed into a star shape, and once it collided with the ice beam, it instantly forced through it and torched the body of the tender pokemon.

"Storm, use Brick Break again!"

The Electivire rushed towards Hydreigon, sensing Rai's determination to landing a hit and feeling similarly.

"Hydreigon, get it with Flash Cannon!"

The man's pokemon opened its middle mouth and formed a ball of metallic light in front. It grunted, and then released the energy from the ball at Storm.

Storm dodged the attack, and the blast shot to the earth, smashing a spot of it and throwing soil outwards. Rai was relieved that his pokemon saw the attack coming. Because he sure didn't, and if all Storm was doing was rely on his orders, then the battle would be much more difficult and he'd be constantly on his toes.

"Storm! Hit him with all you've got!"

The electric type brought its hands down, swiftly so that Hydreigon couldn't have much time to dodge it. Unfortunately, the little time it was given was all the dark/dragon type needed to successfully swerve away from the super effective blow.

Due to missing, Storm lost control of its body midair and crashed onto the ground face first. It was vulnerable in its current state, and the man didn't waste the opportunity to strike back.

"Use Dark Pulse Hydreigon!"

The dragon twisted its two arms backwards, and the heads fired a dark beam of rings that hit and inflicted damage upon Storm.

"Rain, use Dragon Tail."

The girl's Milotic rose from the floor and headed to Hydreigon. Its tail glowed light blue, imbued with dragon energy to attack.

_These kids think that super effective moves will beat me easy. Pathetic!_ "Hydreigon," growled the man. "Use Flash Cannon!"

His pokemon focused and created a silver orb of energy in front of its middle mouth, this time making it bigger than the previous use of the same move. Milotic sped up its charge. It was at a fairly close distance to Hydreigon, and an attempt to surprise it was possible.

The tender pokemon took a swing with its big tail, aiming to strike the dark/dragon type directly on its middle head. The enemy pokemon smartly ducked by bending its neck, and then proceeded to chomp down on Milotic's slippery skin using the two smaller heads. The Milotic cried out in pain.

The man grinned. "Now use Dark Pulse Hydreigon!"

It opened its mouth and prepared to fire a beam of dark energy rings towards the slender water type.

"Get out of there Rain," said the girl.

Her Milotic listened to her command and attempted to squirm out of its position, but to no avail. Hydreigon had locked it from escaping with the grip of its mini heads. Rai grumbled softly, irritated at how badly they were getting thrashed.

_This isn't good_, thought Rai. _Hydreigon isn't as I perceived it would be. It's much tougher!_

He grumbled again as his battle partner's Milotic fell onto the ground. Beside him, she wore a hopeless look on her face. Were they just fighting a losing battle? Rai thought. Was it pointless to go on? One side of his mind agreed, but the other side was willing to press on against the Hydreigon—even in their condition. In the end, Rai always listened to his reckless side. Somehow he managed a faint smile.

"Storm, use Ice Punch!"

The thunderbolt pokemon drew back its fists and gathered its focus. Slowly, the body part became surrounded by icy energy, and when it was enough, the Electivire charged at its opponent with the threat of a full power super effective move.

"Hydreigon, don't let that attack hit!"

The Hydreigon roared fiercely into the air and gathered a ball of orange light in front of its middle mouth. It jerked its head upwards and hurled the orb towards the sky, where it exploded into small chunks and rained down continuously onto the ground. Rai's Electivire lost the focus on its arm and as a result, the attack it had prepared was gone. The electric type did as best as it could to avoid the bombardment of orange energy, but a bit of it scored a hit and more followed.

Thick smoke appeared in the area, and sealed off the view of the trainers. Once the air cleared up, Storm collapsed onto the ground. Rai looked at his pokemon, finding many injuries and marks on its body. A tinge of hopelessness made its way into his mind. The pokemon he was faced with held much power. Admittedly, too much for him to even compete against. In terms of raw strength, the brutal pokemon was in its own league.

Rai mentally grumbled to himself. He saw no solution to his problem—the problem of defeating a well-trained enemy. _Why aren't we strong enough to beat Hydreigon? _he wondered, frustrated.

_**BOOM!**_

The sound was deafening that time around. The entire area within a kilometer from the city shook, rustling the trees and scaring every bird pokemon into flying away. Those who couldn't fly (non-bird pokemon) could only scurry after them on the ground. More buildings in Striaton toppled over, smashing down onto roads or bumping onto other buildings. It was quite devastating, but at least they didn't chain on each other like dominoes.

_This guy is distracting me from saving the people in the city! Some might still be there! _he thought furiously.

His mind was settled. He was determined to defeat the man standing in the way. With the help of the girl, he should easily be able to beat the Hydreigon.

A cold drop of rain. It hit Rai on the bridge of his nose, and he instantly got a finger to touch it. The nerves at his fingertips froze. The droplet felt colder than what his nose told. Soon, more water droplets began falling from the sky. The air became chilly, and the earth below started getting damp.

An idea struck him. Like thunder crashing to the ground, an idea hit his head. He looked up, seeing the overcast weather showing itself above.

"Um... er..." began Rai. It was only then that he realised the girl's name was still a mystery. She looked around to Rai, concern evident in her features.

"Is there something wrong?"

Rai pushed away his own question. He didn't need to know the girl's name—all he needed was her attention.

"No. There is nothing wrong. Although, I think there is a way we can defeat this Hydreigon now."

"There is?" said the girl questioningly.

"Yes. If we can hit Hydreigon with a water type attack, it'll sufficiently weaken it so we can finish it off."

The girl stared tentatively at Rai. "You're right. Water type moves get a boost when it is raining," she said. "But it's useless if we can't hit."

"I've got a plan," said Rai. "But it'll take luck for it to be successful."

"... ...Are you sure we can rely on it then...?"

He slowly nodded his head. "I don't see how else we'll be able to defeat Hydreigon. This looks like the only way."

"Alright then..." The girl paused. "...I'll go along with your plan. All I need to do is use a water type attack, right?"

"Yes. That's all I need you to do." Rai gave a thumbs up. "I know we'll be able to do this!"

"Alright kids, get ready to lose!" said the man. "And after this, you'll be coming with me little emblem bearer."

"I beg to differ. I won't be going anywhere with you, and neither will she!" said Rai. "Storm, use Thunder!"

Glaring at its opponent, the Electivire shrouded itself with electrical power and prepared to unleash. Its body sparked madly, and the space around the electric type changed. It felt overwhelming and electrifying.

"Going with less effective moves now? I don't think the result is going to vary. You know your defeat is inevitable, and you're still anxiously fighting back." The man smirked evilly. "I don't know how you're going to end up stopping us with your weak and pathetic powers. I'm just going to defeat you right now! We don't need nuisances distracting us from our motives—the motives of Team Darkness!"

"So that's the name of your organization huh?" muttered Rai. His Electivire finally released its electric, directing it towards Hydreigon. The attack cut through the air faster than a bullet, leaving Rai's battle partner to stare in awe.

"Hydreigon. You can effortlessly dodge that," said the man. The dark/dragon type growled and moved away from the direction of fire. It was foolish, Rai thought, very foolish to dodge too early. He smirked, watching as Thunder still struck the Hydreigon, inflicting severe damage to it.

"What?! But how?!" shouted the man, outraged.

"Don't you know?" said Rai tauntingly. "Thunder gets increased accuracy when it's raining."

The man continued to glare at Rai. He couldn't stand being outsmarted. He especially hated it when it was a kid—someone _years _younger than he was.

"Damn you! I won't let you get away with that! Hydreigon use Fire Blast!"

The enraged dragon pokemon built up fire energy from within and released a stream from all three of its mouths. The flames combined and formed a star shaped attack, cutting through the air and headed straight for Storm.

"Rain, use Mirror Coat!"

Rai was surprised. _Isn't Mirror Coat a psychic type attack?_

"Sorry. I just thought it was a good time to use it," said the girl.

Rai smiled and nodded. "It's fine. In fact, it's great to see you taking your own initiative."

As the flames collided with the Milotic's body, an iridescent psychic coat of energy began to glow around the water type. It endured the attack, having barely taken any damage, and then with its full body it pushed the fire move back to its origin.

"Dodge it quick Hydreigon!" But the pokemon didn't have an adequate amount for time to do so, and thus, got hit by its own attack and suffered from the flames.

"That was great!" remarked Rai. "Now use a water type move!"

The girl nodded. "Rain, use Hydro Pump!"

The tender pokemon opened its mouth and released a powerful gush of water at its opponent. The water travelled through the air fast, resembling the speed of a waterfall.

"Hydreigon, dodge it!" ordered the Team Darkness man.

With its agility, Hydreigon evaded the attack, watching as it harmlessly rushed past and slammed a tree at full force.

"You kids seem to know about the weather—about how the rain boosts the strength of water type moves," said the man.

"Of course we do! We aren't as ignorant as you think!" shouted Rai.

"Well." The man smirked. "You guys obviously don't know that an attack doesn't do anything if it doesn't hit."

Rai ignored him. He turned to face his battle partner. "Can you use Hydro Pump again?" he asked her.

She gave him a confused look. "Are you sure...?"

"Yes. And your Milotic will hit it this time," said Rai confidently.

"... ...Okay then... ...use Hydro Pump, Rain."

The Milotic fired a blast of water from its mouth once again. Looking at Hydreigon, Rai smirked, knowing that the attack was sure to hit.

"You're not a psychic kid! You don't know if that attack will hit! You're just talking nonsense!" shouted the Team Darkness man. "Avoid the attack Hydreigon!" He looked at his pokemon, expecting it to pull off a dodge, but it didn't move and his mouth went agape in shock.

"Your pokemon can't dodge it," said Rai smugly. "It's _paralyzed_!"

The man's eyes widened in horror.

_So that was what Thunder was for..._

Realisation of his imminent defeat slowly sunk into his brain. A boy had outplayed him, and he couldn't do anything—there was no way to reverse it. Put simply: he's lost.

The Hydreigon tried to force itself to move away, but couldn't, and was met with a Hydro Pump to the face before it could prepare itself. After the attack, the dark/dragon type was still able to battle—but just barely.

"We've almost beat Hydreigon with that attack," said Rai. "Your Milotic dealt it more damage than I thought it would."

"It's because of your plan that Rain achieved a hit." The girl smiled.

"But you are the one that agreed to it. If you didn't, I wouldn't know what to do," said Rai. He smiled too. "Now that we've got him cornered, why don't we finish this together?"

"Okay."

The two nodded at each other.

"Storm, use Thunder!"

"Rain, use Hydro Pump!"

Both pokemon prepared their attacks and then fired at the same time. The streams of electric and water fused together and became a single giant attack—it looked simply elegant. The combination of yellow electric and the blue water made an awesome, yet powerful move.

"Rain Storm Assault!" they said in unison.

Meanwhile the man stayed silent. All he did was openly stare at the attack that would spell out his defeat. And it came quickly.

The Hydreigon growled helplessly as the mighty combination swept it up and blasted it onto a nearby tree trunk. It shook violently. The dark/dragon type pokemon remained stuck against the tree for a moment, and then dropped onto the floor, dazed and unable to continue battle.

"We've beat the Hydreigon," said Rai happily. "I thank you for your help... ...er..."

The girl laughed. "Call me Aqua. I'm glad I was able to help."

He gave her thumbs up. "Well thanks Aqua. I'm Rai by the way."

"Stupid children!" interrupted the man with a grunt. "I can't believe I lost to you two! Next time, things will be different!"

He returned the fainted Hydreigon to its pokeball, and then retreated from the area.

Moments later, a voice came from the distance.

"Rai!"

He turned to the direction, spotting his friends running towards them from the other side of the hedge garden. They soon got to Rai and puffed breathlessly due to all the running.

"Rai! We were looking for you everywhere!" said Frost. "Don't run off like that again!"

"Sorry for worrying you guys," said Rai. "I just wanted to get as many people as possible out from the city."

"Hey! Speaking about the city, I don't think there are anymore explosions!" said Flare. His eyes drifted off to the girl standing beside Rai, and he quickly noticed the cute little blue bow she wore on her head. Something in his mind clicked.

"You're the girl we're meant to be looking for!" Flare pointed at her face, making her slightly uneasy.

"The girl you were meant to be looking for?" asked Rai with a raised brow. "What's going on?"

"We were told by someone to look for her!" said Flare. "She has long black hair and a blue bow! She must be it!"

"W-we were told by h-her sister to keep an eye out for her..." spoke Sky.

"My sister...? She is looking for me...?"

"Yeah! She's been looking for you all over the city!" said Frost. "Let me call her to tell her about this!" She took out the Xtransceiver she had in possession and called her own device. The face of the girl they met previously appeared onscreen.

"Have you found my sister yet?" she asked hopefully.

Frost smiled and nodded happily. "Yes! Your sister is right here!" She moved the device screen, adjusting its angle so that it caught an upright image of Aqua.

"Sis!" she cried in joy. "I finally found you! You were worrying me very much!"

Aqua's expression softened. "I'm sorry I worried you Terra. It's just that-"

"I don't care about the reason!" said her sister. "I'm just glad to see you're okay! Now stay there and make sure you don't move! Tell me where you are so I can get to you!"

"We're at the hedge garden," replied Aqua. "On the west side of the city."

"Alright then! I'm coming now! Don't go anywhere!"

The communication cut off and the Xtransceiver returned to a blank screen.

"Hey! I'll tell you guys what?" piped up Flare suddenly. "Them two look like a great couple don't you think?" He pointed at Rai and Aqua, and the two glanced at each other embarrassingly before quickly widening the gap in between.

Flare laughed heartily. "I was just mucking around!" he said. "But, I seriously do think you two can become an awesome couple!"

"Flare!" shouted Rai, flustered. "We barely even know each other!"

His friend grinned slyly. "That doesn't mean that you can't be!"

* * *

"Sir! Codename: 0100 is battling an emblem bearer! I've asked for his location but he won't tell me!"

"I'm aware that he has something to settle with the kid, right?"

A sigh from the Xtransceiver. "Yes. That's correct sir."

"Right, then leave him to it. Let him do what he wants."

"But-" An abrupt halt and another sigh. "Yes sir..."

The communication between the Xtransceivers cut off, leaving a stare reflecting from the screen for a moment. It was a dark room, and nothing was clearly visible at all. At the far side of the entrance to the huge room, a fairly old man sat all alone, leaning on the armrest of his throne deep in thought.

"I don't even know how it became like this," he grumbled to himself. "I sent those guys to capture the old man and they end up tailing some kids instead."

After a few short seconds, the man rose from his bottom and stood in the darkness, staring blankly at the empty air in front of him.

"It was partially my fault I suppose. I only told them to go after a person with a glowing arm." He sighed and took a step forwards. "So it seems like a new generation of that bothersome bunch is on the rise now. I still don't know where that hidden kingdom is either. That's why I'm giving my attention to the emblem bearers."

The man began walking through the dark room. "Since I haven't located that place yet, the next best thing is to capture as many emblem bearers as possible. That way, there will be less distractions to my plan."

His eyes shrunk into tiny slits. "My plan to rule over all pokemon, that is." His fists tightened, to the point where they became pale white.

"I know you're still in Nuvema Town old man. I'm going to capture you and make you tell me where the hidden kingdom is. You should know. After all, you used to be the ruler of that place."

* * *

**Okay. A few useless things if anyone was to read them (probably not).**

**- I mention somewhere in this chapter that Hydreigon can learn a move of every type except Grass. I'm pretty sure that's true... not 100% though.**

**- Is it just me, or does anyone else think I'm using lots of common OC names?**

**- Do the names Aqua and Terra ring a bell for any of you guys? Kingdom Hearts maybe? I'm serious, I didn't even know of it until recently :O I don't know anything about Kingdom Hearts. I honestly didn't get the names from there...**

**- Over 25 thousand words in 4 chapters! Sorry... that just sounds a lot to me, even though it really kinda isn't.**

**- I'm sure the water and ground emblem bearers are obvious now :) The fire type one should be easy to tell too.**

**Last of all, any reviews? They'll be appreciated :)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Overcasting Darkness

**Chapter 5! :)**

**At this point in time, I've only got 3 favs, 3 follows and 4 reviews for this story... Maybe I can rack up some more...?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

* * *

It was mysterious. It was unknown. The location was at a secluded, secretive place far from the knowledge of Unova's people. Even though it was somewhere within the region itself, hidden deep inside a vast forest, the area was amongst lands that had never been discovered by outsiders before. Luscious green plains that served as habitat to a wide array of peace-loving Pokemon, blowing winds that bore special kinds of tranquillity and calmness, and a small town in the center of nature's abundance which formed a settlement called 'The Hidden Kingdom'. Befitting its name, an elegant castle sat at the highest point, looming above the town and overlooking everything below. It was white, gigantic, and had only a few occupants living within the interior of its sturdy walls. The town wasn't much bigger either, only containing about three hundred people within its borders. Everybody who lived there were hard workers and performed their duties to the fullest—all to sustain the perfect paradise for Pokemon.

Near the tiny town, a group of people worked productively on a development. Many of them were sweating bullets, having done labor for the duration of the day since morning. They didn't take any breaks, and they never considered it either.

"Why don't you guys take a break?" A girl on her Rapidash smiled over to a bunch of workers as they set down their tools and stared. The fire horse she rode trotted to a stop beside one man and she stared in curiosity. The smooth golden hair settled, laying rest in a flow behind her back.

"Er... sorry princess. We want to get as much done as possible before nightfall."

The girl gasped. "But Mr Sean! I don't want you guys to force yourselves! I can see that you're all tired!"

"Don't worry. We'll be fine."

"But you guys can't carry on like this! I think a break would be good right now!"

"I've already said it's fine princess."

"But Mr Sean!"

"Princess!" called a voice from behind. Another three Rapidash came to a halt beside them, each carrying one person.

"Princess! Haven't I told you not to run ahead like that? You might've gotten hurt!" scolded the man in the butler uniform. "Also, can't you be a bit more formal when talking? It is unfitting for royals to speak colloquially."

"What's wrong with talking informally?" inquired the girl. "I don't see how that's a bad thing, Mr Jack."

He sighed. "There you go again princess..." He shook his head. "Anyways, why don't we head back to the castle? I'm sure the cake the chef has been preparing is ready now."

The girl's eyes sparkled. "Oh, cake! Let's go Rapidash!" And with her command, the fire type galloped away to the direction of her home.

The butler signalled to the two guards. "We need to follow her. Let's move." Before leaving though, he looked to the worker and spoke. "Don't overwork yourselves, is that clear?"

"Don't worry! We can handle hard work! We've been doing it for years now after all!"

"If you say so..." The butler faced ahead and dashed after the guards.

* * *

The dining table was long, measuring more than half the length of the room. It was covered over with a red tablecloth, and had three burning candles—one towards each end of the table and one at the center—illuminating the partially dark room with the light its gentle fires bore.

The girl sat at the table with a plate carrying a heap of strawberry cake. She happily stuffed her face with the treat, ignoring how messy her face was getting. Her butler just stood behind her and observed, completely appalled at the way she was pigging out.

"Why can't she ever learn..."

Suddenly, his Xtransceiver rang. He removed the device from his pocket and stared at the screen. The call was from _him_ again.

"I'm sorry princess. I need to answer this call."

The girl swallowed the food in her mouth. "Sure thing!"

The butler bowed and moved out of the room. He accepted the call and a familiar face showed up onscreen.

"Is there something wrong sir?" he asked.

"I just called to ask. Is Rainbow still alright?"

The butler quickly glanced at the girl, seeing a big chunk of cake being shoved into her mouth, and then turned back to nod.

"She's doing well. She continues to lack some formality though."

"That's fine. That doesn't matter." The old man onscreen smiled. Then his tone became low and serious. "Have you told her about it yet?"

"No." The butler shook his head.

"Good. I didn't want her to know about it yet."

"Excuse me for asking this. It mightn't be any of my business, but when _do _you plan on telling her?"

"I might never..." The man onscreen sighed.

"And why is this...?"

"Because..."

"I've finished!" shouted the princess, cutting off the man from talking. The butler glanced at her.

"Please tell me next time," said the butler. "I've got to go now."

"Alright then."

The communication cut off, and the suited man pocketed his device and approached the blonde girl. She sighed in content, leaning back on her seat lazily after having eaten her cake. She stretched while failing to notice the disgusted look on her butler's face.

"You know that's no way for a princess to behave after a meal," he scolded. He lifted her finished plate and wiped a few crumbs off the table.

She stood up from the chair and yawned. "I'm tired!" she remarked. "I'm going to take an afternoon nap!"

A shocked look appeared on the butler's face and he nearly dropped the plate. "But princess! Your cooking lessons with the chef are in half an hour!"

"I don't care! I just want to go to sleep!" The girl smiled. "Besides, I'm never going to use any of the skills I learn in the kitchen! Who's ever heard of a princess cooking her own meals?"

"You never know princess. Those skills might actually come in handy one day."

"I doubt it! Why can't I just go to sleep?" She raised her eyebrows at the butler questioningly.

The butler sighed, giving in to the princess' desire.

"Alright then. Just hand over that tiara of yours to me. It isn't comfortable to take a nap with it on your head." He held out his hands, and the princess removed her silver tiara and placed it there.

"Good. Now go take your nap if you want."

"Awesome!"

The moment she left the dining room, the butler checked her tiara. Everything but the gem in the center was in perfect condition.

"It looks dirty..." he mumbled to himself. "If I just rub the gem with a clean towel, it should be sparkling red again."

* * *

On the branch of a tree, a boy kept himself steadily balanced. He looked down at the small town sprawled out in the scenery ahead of him—there was a cookie in hand, and he munched away on it while he carefully observed; so far, nothing had occurred to disrupt the calm and peace.

The boy narrowed his eyes in suspicion on what he was being presented with. His keen intuition detected malice lingering around, but oppositely, time passed without anything remotely bad. Quite frankly, he was perturbed.

_Why hasn't anything happened yet? Were my senses wrong...?_

He took another bite of the cookie in his hand, and at the same time a rustling noise reached his ears. He almost choked on the cookie, but lightly thumped his chest to relieve it.

_What was that...?_

The boy searched the ground below him, cautiously looking for the cause. There wasn't a thing. He exhaled to remove the slight uneasiness building up in his chest.

_Probably just a wild Pokemon..._

Soon, the rustling noise of plants came again, and something fast darted out of the bushes. It was literally a blur to his eyes, so he didn't catch an image of the thing. But that was where his ninja training would come in handy—he wanted to give chase.

The boy bounded down the tree branches, and swiftly leapt forwards into action. He had caught a glimpse of the thing go north, so he decided to follow that path and try his luck. After running a long distance, he skidded to a stop. There wasn't anything in sight, so he must've headed down the wrong path.

...Or did he...?

The boy's ears picked up on the delicate sound of light footsteps from... _behind!_

He pivoted around to find the blur headed back to where they came from, and he hastily continued to pursue it.

_Almost got it... _he thought, just barely out of reach.

As soon as he was close enough, he jumped forwards and tackled the thing onto the ground.

"Blitzle!" it cried, struggling in the boy's grasp.

He sighed. _Only a harmless Pokemon..._

He released the hold on the electric type, and it quickly took the chance to flee. At that time, a question tugged at his mind.

_Why was that Pokemon running...? Is there something going on...?_

The boy scanned the forest for anything unusual. There was nothing. The forest looked perfectly normal, _but _he knew better than to believe his eyes straight out. There was something in the air and it disturbed him. He was going to make it his mission to find out.

A rustling noise, and he instantly raised his guard; it wasn't another Pokemon according to his senses.

"Who's there...?" the boy asked tersely.

There was no reply. The air was silent apart from nature. Winds blew across the area and softly rustled the bushes and trees with its force. A couple of Pidove flew overhead, cooing as they shot past.

The boy stood in the center of a forest clearing, searching around for the noise he heard earlier. Specifically, he focused his eyes to seek out differences within the greenery; so he could find the person hiding from him.

He glared.

"I repeat. Who's there...?"

Unexpectedly, a figure stepped out from the bushes and revealed himself to the open. He had a ninja attire on, and his shirt bore the 'D' symbol towards the left of his chest—showing that he belonged to _that _organisation.

Quickly, the newcomer withdrew a pokeball from his belt and summoned it into the clearing. "Go Gabite! Come out and use Dragon Pulse!"

Upon coming out the dragon/ground type formed a blue ball and launched it at the boy.

"Arise, End!" He threw his pokeball and a Bisharp emerged from the object. "Use Protect."

The sword blade pokemon focused its bodily energy and put up a transparent green barrier around itself. Dragon Pulse crashed and dissipated against it, effectively defending its trainer from physical harm.

"You're part of that organisation right...?" asked the boy.

"What's it to you?" smirked the 'D' man. "If I was, what would you be able to do?"

The boy stood his ground and remained silent.

"Exactly. A stupid kid like you wouldn't be able to do anything."

A reply came this time.

"Don't... call me stupid..." the boy muttered.

"Huh? Does being called _stupid_ really irritate you?" The 'D' man chuckled. "In that case, why don't I say it some more? _Stupid!_"

"I've told you not to call me that..."

"I can sense your aggressiveness. Just another push and you'll be coming at me like a crazy gorilla. _Stupid!_"

"I know what you are trying to do, and it won't work..." said the boy calmly. "I won't fall for taunts like that. Though I can't deny that being called _stupid _really irritates me..." He leapt forwards kicked the 'D' man on his knees, injuring his legs and making him collapse onto the floor. To fight off for its trainer, Gabite got ready to launch another Dragon Pulse at the boy, but was stopped by his Bisharp's Night Slash and fainted before it could fire the sphere.

The boy picked the man up and put him on a tight headlock. "I'm going to use you for interrogation now. Get ready to answer some questions."

"And what if I don't want to?!" The 'D' man spat back defiantly.

"I'll make sure you answer..." said the boy darkly. "If not, I'll just break your neck..."

The man sniggered. "I don't think so. I'll beat a teen like you any day!" He suddenly thrust his elbow backwards in hope of surprising his enemy. It was easily dodged and the boy strengthened the grip around him. The 'D' man helplessly flailed his arms and legs as the circulation was slowly being cut off from his neck.

"I've undergone ninja training ever since I was ten. Don't think that those kinds of attacks will work on me..."

"Just... who are... you...?" asked the 'D' man. He could hardly talk because of the headlock. Giving some mercy, the boy eased the grip on his neck a little.

"Do you want to know who I am...?" The boy dug into his own pockets and withdrew a black case. The flaps fell down, showing a white badge with information. "I work for another organisation: The International Police. You'll be coming with me for interrogation."

The 'D' man grumbled. "Nothing useful is going to leave my mouth, you hear?"

"Like I said before, I'll make sure you answer..." said the boy. He pulled out some handcuffs from his back pocket and chained them around the man's wrists. Then he searched for the Xtransceiver and called up a number.

"Ah. Codename: Nightfall. Is there a reason why you are calling?"

"Yes. I've captured an enemy working for Team Darkness..."

"Good. Where is your position?"

"I'm in a forest close to Nuvema Town. I'll be heading there to find a place for interrogation."

"Would you like any assistance with that?"

"No. I'll be fine on my own..."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright then, good luck with the interrogation. Let us know when you have some useful information."

"Will do..."

With a beep, the communication disappeared and the boy looked to his captured man.

"Listen. I'm going to find a quiet place where I can question you thoroughly. In the meantime, you're going to follow me around town. Understood?"

"Why can't you just question me out here?" demanded the 'D' man.

"Because I want to sit, and the ground is too uncomfortable for me..." the boy responded.

"Seriously? That's the reason?"

"...I'm supposed to be the one questioning... Quit it..."

* * *

_**Ding dong!**_

The sound of the doorbell rung throughout the silent house. It reached the ears of an elderly man reading a newspaper in the kitchen, and knowing what it signalized, he got up from his seat.

"Coming!" he called. Once the man reached the door, he pulled on the handle and revealed a person in the doorway. He was wearing a blue cap, and had a white shirt with a 'D' symbol printed on the chest pocket towards the left.

"Hi sir!" greeted the newcomer with a smile. "It's a lovely day isn't it?"

The old man looked down to his arms, seeing a brown package with its tag hanging off on its side. He assumed there was a delivery.

"Strange," he muttered to himself.

"Something wrong sir?"

"No, no." The old man shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just wondering if you were here to make a delivery."

The younger man stuck his hands out. "Yes I am. This is the package you've ordered."

"For me...?" asked the old man cluelessly.

"Seems like it," the deliveryman smiled.

He didn't receive the box just yet. Something was bothering him. He tried remembering the past week to figure out when he ordered for a delivery, but all he got was confusion. Nothing in his brain clicked about a package. He had never wanted any. His eyes shrunk in dark suspicion, pondering on the situation at hand.

"Did you somehow stop by at the wrong house? Maybe it's meant for my neighbour?"

"No. I am sure this is yours," replied the deliveryman.

The elder's eyes travelled down to the dangling tag, and he spotted his name written across it. Finding a logical possibility for the brown box was getting increasingly hard.

"Well, I don't recall ever ordering for a delivery. It's plainly a mistake."

"But I insist, this is not a mistake."

Narrow eyes studied the man standing outside.

"I'll accept the package then..." said the old man with a sigh. "I can't remember ever wanting something delivered though. It might be Rai or Frost's package that was really delayed..." _Though I highly doubt that..._

After signing a paper, he bid farewell to the deliveryman, and it was returned similarly. He shut the door behind him and went into the living room to place the box on the coffee table. He stared at it in wonder, contemplating about opening it then and there. Ultimately, the decision was opposed due to unsureness.

"I shouldn't open it just in case Rai or Frost ordered this..."

An abrupt knock on the door.

Cautiously, the old man looked through his window to see who it was. The deliveryman he thought had already left stood at the doorway. He held a spanner in his hand, and he tapped his foot patiently as he waited for the door to open again.

The old man sensed danger in the air. Warnings flared in his mind about the man at the door—in particular, the stirring feeling he got from the tool he possessed. He never called for repairing services.

Slowly, he walked to the front door and pulled the handle to once again face the deliveryman. Instead of a smile like before, there was a mean scowl that covered his face. The old man was stumped at how a cheerful man could become so angry.

"Why? Have I done something wrong?"

"I've heard it from outside. You said you weren't going to open the package I sent to you."

"Is there a reason why you want me to?" The elder raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. It's yours so you should open it."

"But why...?" The old man frowned as he thought. The deliveryman was oddly keen on getting him to open the package; there had to be something big inside. He observed the younger man for clues.

"Something the matter?" asked the deliveryman. "I can see you searching me with your eyes. You think I'm suspicious."

The elderly man found a 'D' symbol on his shirt. He noticed it earlier, but he didn't take the time to properly look at it. Now that he was, it seemed to emanate malice.

"Yes. That 'D' on your shirt..." He pointed to the purple imprint. "...it feels wicked. I think I've felt it somewhere before..."

The deliveryman lost his scowl and laughed. "Trust me I'm not wicked!"

"_You_ might not be, but I can feel something from that letter. The energy..." The old man trailed off and pondered about it. "I think I might know where I've felt it..." he said upon realising. "Veil."

Instantly, the atmosphere turned tense. The deliveryman clenched his teeth, seething with explosive rage. The old man didn't know what was coming for him.

"This is the end of it. It's the end of your deceit. I know that you're somehow connected to Veil. Spill it, you're evil. You're after me for something-"

The old man was cut off when the spanner connected with his head. The deliveryman stared down upon him, grinning vilely as evil thoughts crossed his mind.

"I will hand you over to the boss..."

* * *

The streets of Nuvema Town were peaceful. It was a great day outside with the sun shining well, but not many residents seemed to be enjoying their time outdoors. Instead, most were indulging on the comfort of their own homes doing indoor activities such as cooking or sewing or watching the television. Many young children also played in their backyards, running about joyously with their Pokemon (or their parents'). Through the air, Pidove cooed to each other, communicating in their own little way. Groups of Tranquil darted across the skies, making synchronised movements as if they were performing a flying dance. Berry trees on the ground flourished with life, bringing a range of colours (with the berries they bore) to the sides of the road on the boulevards they were planted in.

A boy glanced around, noting the beauty of the town he was walking through. Behind him was a handcuffed man who glowered at everything in sight. Out of the two, the former was searching all over town for a place to sit and interrogate (the latter). Since a Pokemon Center didn't exist within Nuvema, he was forced to seek another spot to carry out official matters. Most buildings were either homes or stores, which when taken into consideration, made things increasingly difficult.

_I should stop admiring and actually try to look..._

"Hey officer kid!" shouted the man from behind. "Where are you bringing me?"

"I don't know..." he replied back. "I need to find a suitable place first."

"Then find one already!"

The boy turned away and narrowed his eyes. "What do you think I'm working on...?"

"I don't know," shrugged the man. "You look like you're admiring the town instead."

With a grumble, the boy pulled him by the collar and dragged him along. During their extensive search for an interrogation spot, they came across a home with a trail of blood leading to the front door. With that in mind, nothing good could've happened at the place.

_When was this...?_

The boy looked to the handcuffed man and saw a grin spread across his face. It brought about anger from deep within him. He _knew _he was somehow involved.

"What happened here...?" The boy grabbed him roughly and demanded an answer.

The man just smirked, raising more anger. "I'm not telling you. It's nothing that the international police should know."

"Tell me..." the boy growled, shaking him.

"No!" retorted the man. "You're not getting any information from me! Didn't I make myself clear before?"

The boy pulled out his Xtransceiver and sighed. "Fine then. I'll discover the situation and put a stop to it myself..." He called another Xtransceiver and a face appeared onscreen.

"Codename: Nightfall. Did you receive any new information?"

The boy shook his head. "I didn't. Instead, I would like you guys to interrogate the man I caught... for now. I'll be chasing down some crime that occurred in Nuvema."

"Er... okay? So are you going send the captured person over to us?"

"No. I want you guys to come and pick him up..." With one hand, the boy grabbed a line of rope from his pocket and elbowed the handcuffed man on the stomach. The attack winded him and he collapsed onto the ground. "I'll have him tied up against a tree trunk for when somebody comes. The house is near Nuvema's research laboratory."

"Roger. We'll be sending an agent there right now."

"I'll report to you again after I'm done. Bye..."

"Okay. See you."

The face disappeared from the screen and the boy turned back to the man lying on the floor. He heaved the body, brought it to a nearby tree, laid it down against the trunk, and tied a rope around him.

_Now for that case... where do I start?_

* * *

The boy known as 'Nightfall' leaned against a wall and peered around from a corner of an alleyway. In the line of his sight, there were people walking up and down the streets, none of who seemed remotely suspicious in anyway. He checked behind himself—just in case—before exiting the narrow path, into the open streets of Nuvema. He looked around again for safe measure.

_I'll never find that person at this rate..._

By pure chance, the boy glanced back at the alleyway he came from and spotted a sprinting figure. It was pretty much a blur, but from what his eyes caught, the figure wore a white shirt and a blue cap.

Assuming that an innocent person wouldn't be running like that for nothing, he decided to pursue the figure.

He ran after the figure through the slim alleyway. Once he reached the end, he twisted his head to the right (where the figure headed), and barely caught a glimpse of something turning left. There was nothing else it could be, he thought. It was definitely that figure. He dashed after it in hopes of catching up. At the correct corner, he turned right—ending up at a long street that seemed to have nothing but food stalls. A fair distance away, he saw the figure leap over the table like it was doing parkour. The environment was brighter now, so he also noticed a body being carried behind its back.

That reminded 'Nightfall' of the trail of blood.

_So that figure has kidnapped someone..._

Seeing no reason to stand idly and think, the boy ran at full speed to continue chasing down the wrongdoer. The tiny crowds of people around hindered his run, and he was given no other choice than to use his ninja skills too. He dodged people, jumped over eating tables, avoided running into decorations, and eventually made it to the other side without causing too many problems.

The boy stopped at the splitting path and firstly looked to the left. Nothing but a peaceful scene where people were happily strolling. He then looked to the right. Everybody (Pokemon included) was flat on the ground with swirls for eyes, as if they've been shoved into the ground and knocked out as a result. He narrowed his eyes and spotted the white figure disappearing into a forest far ahead. He dashed off without another thought, desperate to catch up before he lost sight of it.

He worked his legs as fast as they could—more than what was his previous limit. Energy flowed through every vein in his body, and it quickly rose to an inhuman level as his determination skyrocketed. There was no way he was going to let a civilian get kidnapped. Not while he was on the job.

Soon he arrived at the forest, at the outside of town. He realised that it was the same forest from earlier, but many things were different from previously. The air wasn't the same for one. It felt... _ominous_... like there was something bad that was going to happen.

The boy steeled himself for what was to come. If anything _were_ to try and inflict harm upon him, he would be ready to counter attack the attempt.

_I can feel it... there's something around here..._

He carefully hovered his eyes over each and every plant in the area, and stopped at a lone bush big enough to rival the size of Snorlax. It was the ideal spot to hide...

_Concealing yourself won't work..._

"Arise, Howl! Use Inferno at that bush over there!" He threw in a pokeball from his belt, revealing a Houndoom that popped out midair. It inhaled a deep breath and then expelled it along with a giant stream of orange fire, directly towards the bush that its trainer intended it for.

A figure leapt out of the bush just in time before the flames could consume him, leaving nothing else but a burnt and destroyed plant in its wake. The boy viewed his miss as detestable.

"Hey boy. Did you really want to harm the old man behind me?" The figure who he'd been chasing all this time, turned around to show an unconscious person sprawled on his back.

The boy instantly felt relieved that his attack was avoided. _Why did I attack when I knew he had somebody else with him...?_

"Alright! Listen kid!" He snapped out of his thoughts and faced the man in the white shirt. Looking at his chest region, he noticed a 'D' symbol imprinted.

"Okay, I'm only going to say this once, so don't say I didn't warn you afterwards." 'Nightfall' glared at the man. "I'll be quite blunt. Don't mess with us. We're far superior to you in terms of strength and sheer power so don't even attempt to fight against us if you don't know the boundary of your own abilities. Make it easier for everyone and ensure minimal harm by cutting your chase on us now. Trust me; even the police force or _the whole of Unova _won't be enough to stop us. You'll just be dragging out something inevitable."

"You can't say that..." spoke the teenage officer. "An organisation like yours will never be able to take on the police force, let alone a whole region. I've experienced some of the power you guys have firsthand, and to be honest, it's nothing special or relatively concerning. If every member of _Team Darkness _was like the guy I faced, then involving many people would be redundant..."

The man in the white shirt grumbled.

"Not to brag or anything..." continued the boy. "But I could probably take on your organisation solo."

"Is that so?" smirked the man. He looked to the man he was carrying and remembered his job. "I almost forgot. I can't linger around for much longer. I'd like to test out your strength for myself another day."

"Are you planning on retreating...?"

"Yes. I don't have the time to battle you. I must deliver this catch to the boss."

At that moment, a black glow emitted from the boy's arm. A symbol of a crescent moon flashed, followed by a symbol of Darkrai.

"You shall battle me... now. You shall not escape..." spoke the boy menacingly. The _Team Darkness _man in the white shirt didn't seem too bothered by him.

"Sorry, but you heard me. I have no time to battle you. Revealing your emblem of darkness won't sway me to stay and partake in your time stalling distraction. Nice try though." The man carefully laid down the elderly on the soil ground and then took out a pokeball from his belt.

"Come out Cacturne. Use Pin Missile."

The scarecrow pokemon emerged with a flash of light and it immediately went on the offensive. It positioned its arms so they were pointed straight at the boy and then it released a swarm of white arrowheads aimed for him.

"Arise, End! Use Protect."

The pokeball split open, and the dark/steel type jumped in front of its master, forming a green barrier to shield him. The opposing bug type attack hit the barier repeatedly, causing a cloud of grey smoke to come about. It became impossible to see due to the obscuring air.

_I can't see..._

He waited patiently for the smoke to disappear to strike back—since everything will be clear again—but he never received the opportunity because by then the opponent was gone. The man he was battling withdrew, and took the elder he kidnapped with him. The only thing left in front of him was his Bisharp, his Houndoom, the forest trees, and the air.

The emblem bearer of darkness soon came into realisation that the battle was gone—the enemy had escaped and somehow, his body didn't feel like giving chase. Now that despicable man was free to continue doing bad, and it was all because of him...

He felt like a total failure. Nothing had ever hit him as hard. All he wanted to do was to drown in his own misery. If Team Darkness ever succeeded in doing what they set out to do, it'd all be his fault. He'd be the one to blame.

But then another thought hit him. There was no way the organisation was allowed to succeed. It couldn't happen. He had made it his mission in the past to protect the ones close to him. If Team Darkness_ was_ planning something, then surely the entire region would be affected—maybe even the whole world. Everyone he knew... every single thing he valued... would possibly vanish from existence.

He stood up, the determination within him burning bright like a ferocious wildfire. He looked towards the skies, finding himself getting lost in its tranquillity. _Nothing_ was allowed to happen to the world. Not when he was involved. It was his job as a part of the international police to solve crimes and save the civilians from harm.

_With the powers you've bestowed upon me... Darkrai... I... Dusk... will help protect the fate of our world..._

The image of the shining electric emblem appeared in his mind, and he thought about the bearer of the emblem. All he remembered was that black hair of his, and the black cape that he wore behind him. Nonetheless, it was still enough for him to find the boy again.

The mission he assigned to himself would begin now.

* * *

**Okay, like the last chapter, I'm going to put some pointless things here... (maybe I should dedicate a section to it at the end of every chapter?)**

**- Is it just me, or does my writing get sloppy the lower you go? (down the page)**

******- Does the chapter title sound alright? I mean it kinda makes sense to me, but...**

**- With the addition of this chapter, the story will be a little more than thirty thousand words long :O**

**- Maybe the story is going by to slowly? Or too quickly?**

**Lastly, don't forget to review! I'd like to see those numbers rise :)**


	6. Chapter 6 - Problem in Pinwheel

**I'm not dead... I was just... ... ...delayed...**

**I doubt many people care though, because not many people even read this...**

**Well, I hope this chapter will change things :) The number of reviews I have altogether always matches the number of chapter I have up, which is weird I guess :\ This chapter will probably break the pattern (or not), and if it does, I hope it's because I got more than one review, not because I got none this time around :)**

**Speaking about reviews, feel free to say anything you want in them. Most of them, if not all of them have been positive so far, and of course they are welcome, but I'm wondering when someone is going to give me some criticism. To be honest, I expected some to be in my first review...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

**Anyways, enough with the chitchat... I present chapter 6.**

* * *

It was a dark room. There was a man seated on his throne in the center of the room, waiting for an expected visitor to show up. He had just received a call from a follower saying that who he wanted was caught, and was due to appear through his rooms' doors at any given second.

A knock.

"Come in," said the man. He was delighted to know that the time was now. The opportunity that presented itself to him was perfect; after all, he would use it to dish out sweet revenge. It would especially be sweet though if that person just happened to be the one he despised of the most.

The one being dragged in _was_ that person.

It was a long time enemy of his. Somebody who had opposed him and had successfully foiled his plans in the past. When they were younger, he had tried something else before, but was taken down and had supposedly died. Now that he had a second chance at life, he wasn't going to waste it being peaceful. If anything, the time gap had made him even more ambitious than before. He was going to pursue his goal even more aggressively, using every inch of his power to achieve it.

"Hello old pal," the elderly man greeted. He got up from his throne and stared down at the other elder who was tossed onto the ground by his accomplice. He grinned maliciously, showing an evil glint from his eyes to the one looking up.

"It's you again... I knew you were still alive..."

"If you knew it, then why didn't you search for me?" The elderly man standing above threw his flowing cape to the side, and advanced to the other who was still on the floor staring up.

"I couldn't... I had other things to do..." The one on the floor looked down and gritted his teeth.

The caped man bent down and petted the other with his bony hands.

"Don't worry. I understand that a king is always busy and has other things to do." He grabbed a fistful of the other man's hair and shook him. "But that aside, would you mind telling me about the location of the Hidden Kingdom that you used to rule?"

"Why would I ever give that information to you?" the other grunted in reply.

A smirk. "I see... King Spectrum has quite a temper. You know, you're the only easy way to that crown. I will make you spit it out by any means possible."

"You can try, but I won't utter a word about that place."

The caped elder gripped his hair tighter. "I almost decided to get by using another method until I heard that you were still alive, you know? Tell me where that kingdom is before I force it out of you!"

"You can try but I'm not going to breathe a word about anything!"

A smack across the cheeks.

"I'm going to have you hang around this place until you tell me where that kingdom is!"

"You can keep me here for a million years and still get nothing! What you're doing won't get you anything!"

The caped elder calmed down and smirked. "Alright then. Let's try and prove it shall we? I'll send you down to the torture chambers and you'll possibly die there due to the harsh treatment. Are you sure you want to be doing this?"

"Yes," answered the other elder confidently. He knew that his enemy wanted the information he had; he wasn't going to be killed at all—it was just a bluff to scare him.

The caped old man closed his eyes and sighed. "Very well then... Lucifer!" He called out to the doors. "Come and get this piece of junk to the underground floor for some torture!"

Submissively, the man who brought him into the room came back inside and gripped him by the collar. Then he dragged him away, heading directly for the first torturous room on the lowest floor. It was equipped with many electrical dischargers, perfect for shocking someone who was in need of it.

"You're never going to forget the zaps from this..." the accomplice muttered.

* * *

"I can't reach the other side," said Frost. "There must be something wrong."

The group of four friends were walking through a forest, staying on the straight path to avoid becoming lost. They decided to reach the next city as soon as possible, and taking the fastest route (keeping straight) was the best way to achieving that goal.

During their tread, Frost at one point realised that she didn't have her Xtransceiver. Remembering back, she never recalled switching back devices, and due to that, she was trying to get in touch with the owner so they could organise something. So far, she had already tried calling thirty times to no avail.

"Come on! I need this call to work!" Frost prayed silently as she pressed the call button to wait for someone to answer. Unfortunately, like the other previous attempts she made, the communication never got through.

"Give it up for now Frost!" said Flare. "Try again later if it's not working!"

"I need to get in touch as soon as possible! I can't go around Unova with somebody else's Xtransceiver!" responded Frost.

"Frost. Don't worry about it," said Rai. "Just hold onto it for now. I'm sure we'll see her again."

She sighed and stopped making attempts at calling, listening to her brother's subtle way of saying it was pointless.

"I know Rai!" grinned Flare. "You just want to see her sister again don't you? You want to see that Aqua girl again!"

Rai furrowed his eyebrows. "Why do you say that?"

"It's obvious!" smiled Flare. "You've become infatuated for the first time! With a girl too, isn't that amazing?"

"...You thought I was homosexual then?"

"No! I never thought you were homosexual! I considered asexual, but-"

"Alright! Can we stop this thing about sexuality?" Frost cut in. "We'll just get to Castelia City as quickly as possible and maybe we'll see the two sisters there!"

Everyone turned silent after that. There was no talking whatsoever—not a single word. The group just advanced through the forest in silence for the next hour, keeping to themselves and looking around at the scenery they passed by while silently thinking their opinions.

"Hey! There's a Sewaddle!" said Flare suddenly, lifting away the quiet atmosphere around them. He pointed to the Pokemon looking at them, making everyone turn.

Sky's eyes turned wide upon noticing something. "W-w-why is it glaring at us...?" she said. The girl cringed underneath its frightening death stare and she scurried away behind Frost.

Rai raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What if there's something wrong?" he said. "Maybe they think we've come to invade their territory?"

Flare furrowed his eyebrows. "That can't be right!" he shouted. "Sewaddle aren't territorial!"

His words were met with confusion from Rai. "Then why are there a bunch of them glaring hostilely at us?"

It was Flare's turn to be confused. "There are?"

The four of them looked around and noticed a circle of Sewaddle staring at them with burning fury. The atmosphere they created was dangerously hot, and the heated eyes they shot felt as though it was melting them like candles.

Wanting to flee, Rai quickly searched for an escape route, but couldn't as every gap was sealed off by the surrounding pokemon. The group was seemingly trapped without a way of getting out.

"Wait, what? Why are they so angry with us? I didn't do anything!" shouted Flare frantically.

The group of encircling Pokemon moved in, bringing the impending threat closer.

"Don't talk so loudly," said Rai. "You're making them angrier..."

"Sewaddle are usually peaceful Pokemon. There's got to be something making them like this," said Frost. "I think we just need to discover what. Then we can solve the problem!"

"How though?! The Sewaddle are closing in on us and we can't escape!" said Flare loudly. "We're going to be mauled by them in a second!"

But then a thought hit him.

"Unless..." He whipped out a pokeball from his pokemon belt and enlarged it in his hands. "...we fight our way through." He smirked.

"No, there's another way," said Rai, preventing Flare from starting a fight. He looked to Sky, whose head was poking out from behind Frost. "We can use flying pokemon to fly out of here. Sky, get them ready please."

"Oh yeah! Flying pokemon!" realised Flare. "Why didn't we just use our flying pokemon to fly us to Castelia City?"

"It's too far for them," answered Rai. "And we need to conserve their strength too."

"For what?"

"For situations when we really need them, like this!" Rai finished with a yelp as he noticed what was coming. The Sewaddle had pounced into the air, locking their ferocious eyes onto their targets and preparing to tear them apart.

"Sky, bring out your pokemon now!" shouted Rai urgently.

"O-okay!" She quickly grabbed out her pokemon and summoned them.

The Sewaddle attacked, and the barrage of leaves they fired flew to their aim. At the spot where all the moves collided, an explosion occurred, forming a dark smokescreen in the area.

"Whew..." said Flare, looking down on the spot they were just at a few seconds ago from above Sky's Togekiss. "We would've been toast if that hit us. Thank Arceus that we barely managed to avoid that!"

"I admit, we were pretty lucky," said Rai, hanging from Sky's Pidgeot. "Those Sewaddle _were_ quite fast, though they never should've attacked us in the first place..." A weird feeling began to make itself known inside his chest, and he couldn't bring himself to ignore it. "Frost might be right. There might be something wrong going on. If there is, then it's our job to put things right again."

"Why us though?" asked Flare.

"Because," said Rai, referring to his arm. "We're the emblem bearers. We have to protect the world. The Sewaddle might be a sign of wrongdoing, and we can't just simply ignore it."

"But _I'm_ not an emblem bearer!" shouted Flare.

"You're not, but the three of us are!" piped up Frost from behind Flare. "Since you're with us, you've got no choice but to tag along!"

Flare sighed discontentedly. "Yeah, yeah..."

* * *

"Hey sis! Why can't I call with this Xtransceiver?" asked Terra. She was staring at the device wrapped around her wrist, doing her best to figure out what was wrong with it. She tried flicking the screen with her fingers in an attempt to make it work again but to no avail.

After a brief observation of the device, Aqua drew to a conclusion. "It's broken Terra."

The said girl became shocked. "What?! Are you serious sis?! Since when?!"

"Since you got angry and slammed the tree with the back of your fist," Aqua replied.

"Did I really do that sis?"

"Yeah."

"Damn!" shouted Terra, slamming a nearby tree. It violently shook from the force of the impact as the girl had a strong fist. Meanwhile, her sister just stared at her.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that sis?"

Aqua blinked. "You just did it again."

"Did what?" A moment of confusion before Terra realised. "Oh... whoops..."

Aqua decided that it was the perfect time to repeat the usual. "You should be more careful Terra."

Terra grunted. "You're always telling me that sis. Don't you think it's getting a bit tiring saying that all the time?"

"But it's for your own good. What if you get hurt?"

"From slamming a tree?" asked Terra. "That doesn't seem likely."

"I know. But-"

A faint voice interrupted Aqua.

"Sis. I hear something," said Terra in a loud whisper. "Can you stop talking for a second?" She signalled for her sister to quiet down, and focused her ears on the talk she could hear. The voices were far away, but despite that, Terra could hear what they were on about. Each second that passed by turned her expression more fearful, and Aqua got increasingly curious as she watched on.

"What are they saying Terra?" she asked.

Terra's eyes bulged out in shock. She didn't reply.

"Something bad?"

Terra tried to muster up the effort to speak. Eventually, she was able to.

"Sis, the voices said something about driving the forest pokemon mad. They want them to attack anybody that passes through here."

Aqua was concerned. "Why would they want that?"

"I don't know," said Terra. "But I think we better stop them while we still can. It doesn't seem that bad yet since we haven't come across any aggressive pokemon, but it might get worse if we don't do anything about it."

"Shouldn't we just call the police...?"

"This problem isn't very hard sis, we'll just go to them and force them to stop. Besides, we don't have the time to wait around."

Terra began to run off, eager to shut down whatever business the voices were plotting. She turned back when she noticed Aqua standing idly. "Come on sis! Don't just stand there!"

* * *

"Braviary!"

The mighty cries of bird pokemon pierced through the air. From afar, many similar cries returned with just as much power. It was at a natural scenery where pokemon could be in absolute peace—no disturbances and nothing to restrict their freedom. Above were the empty blue skies that showed that freedom, where flocks of birds soared through the air as one. Below were the luscious green treetops that originated from the ground, bearing habitat to various peace-loving insect pokemon. Towering above the height of those surrounding treetops were two large rocky mountains, one slightly taller than the other. From below, it seemed like they pierced the skies with the very tips of their summits. Many pokemon made their homes on the mountains, and they served as a great viewpoint for travellers who ventured up their paths as well. In fact, the only problem with that were the boulders that occasionally tumbled down the sides. The two mountains were known to be unstable, so most avoided them altogether.

On the top of the higher mountain, a Braviary stood, tall and proud. Its beak pointed upwards, displaying its superiority, while its feathers rustled from the powerful winds that blew at high altitude. Because of this, its talons gripped tightly around the mountain tip so it wouldn't get swept off. A pair of eyes, belonging to the valiant pokemon, searched from its position to find anything remotely interesting nearby. It caught out nothing unusual—just a couple flocks of other bird pokemon flying around.

The Braviary let out a loud cry. A few seconds later, another similar cry was returned. The bird cried out once more before beating its wings and taking off for flight, headed for where its friend was.

A sudden forceful gust of chilly wind blew across the mountains, stopping the Braviary from flying forwards. It landed back onto the mountaintop for safety, and gripped the bit of footing with as much strength as its talons had.

Just below, a jagged piece of rock fell off the mountainside, rolling unevenly downwards. It eventually rolled to a stop—not very far beneath the summit—at a large, smooth ledge where a majestic creature stood. With its large eyes, the creature curiously observed the fallen rock, not moving an inch from its spot. Many thoughts began to fill its head, and it sighed after staring at the rock for a whole minute. Its eyes then turned and settled on the wide landscape below, thinking deeply as the winds pushed against its cream-coloured body. Falling off seemed to be the least of its concerns at that moment, as it knew there were other things that were incomparably more worrying than injury.

_The world we live in seems to be already falling apart. This place where humans and pokemon live together is going to completely disappear soon, and it's all going to be thanks to that stupid organisation._

The creature looked up to the skies, seeing a Braviary take off for flight, since the winds have ceased. It produced a powerful cry that went through the air around them—so powerful that everything nearby felt its force.

_Geez. That was loud. I hope that some time in the near future, my emblem bearer will discover his powers, and when he does, I want him to take off and let out a mighty cry just like that bird did!_

* * *

"Alright. The pokemon have been flying for a long time now. I think it'll be best if we land and let them rest again." Rai pointed at a glade below for them to land on. The flying pokemon they rode flew down to the spot, and once they touched the ground again, returned them to their pokeballs and then handed them over back to Sky.

"Okay then! Do any of you guys know where we are?" asked Flare.

"I don't!" said Frost. "But I know that if we just head north, we'll eventually hit Skyarrow Bridge!"

"B-but... w-where is north?" questioned Sky.

The group looked around cluelessly.

"I don't know. I think we might be lost," said Rai.

"Are you serious?" shouted Flare. He brought his right hand up to his forehead and sighed as he shook his head. "How are we going to find our way out of the forest now?"

"_Hold it! What are you girls doing here?"_

Rai froze. "Wait. Did you guys just hear that?" He listened in closer to the distant voices.

"_I heard what you people did to the forest pokemon! I'm here to clear things up and set things right!"_

"_You sound so sure of yourself. It's a pretty amazing thing, considering how you're outnumbered a dozen to one."_

"_Yeah, but the difference in our powers is another story."_

Flare was worried. "Who in their right mind would want to go into a battle against a dozen opponents?"

"It could be another emblem bearer," said Rai. "We've got to help them."

"Just thinking about the possibility, I doubt this person is an emblem bearer," remarked Flare. "But, I guess we've still got to help anyways."

So the group of four ran through the bushes and trees—towards the voices without stopping—until they arrived at a giant forest clearing. There, according to what was visible, a fight was due to begin at any moment. On one side of the clearing were exactly a dozen guys, all dressed in black uniforms with their dark type pokemon beside them. They all radiated a feeling of malice, which unsettled Rai a lot. Meanwhile, on the other side of the clearing, two girls stood, one with a fierce looking Excadrill standing in front. Flare immediately recognised them.

"Hey! If it isn't Aqua and Terra! It must've be fate that brought us here!"

"Yo! How have you all been?" Terra greeted back.

Aqua stared at Flare confusedly. "Fate brought us here...?"

Flare laughed and placed a hand behind his neck. "Nah. I was talking about you and Rai! Fate brought _both of you _together!"

"We've got no time for this. It isn't matchmaking time," grumbled Rai. "Team Darkness is the one responsible for driving the forest pokemon mad, and they're right here before us. We have to use this opportunity to get some answers out of them."

"I like the way you think!" commented Terra. "It's time we forced out some of their knowledge!" She gazed at the Team Darkness member standing ahead of the pack and smirked at him in confidence.

_She seems self-assured_, thought Frost. _There really are so many overconfident people in this world. _But then another thought came to mind.

"Terra. You still have my Xtransceiver right?"

The said girl remembered what she did to the device, and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, giving off a nervous laugh at the same time. "Heh. I... er... might've broken it a little." Terra showed Frost the Xtransceiver that was attached to her wrist, and Frost gasped upon seeing the condition it was in. The screen was smashed to bits, and it didn't even look like it could function anymore.

"Looks like I'm going to have to get a new Xtransceiver then..." muttered Frost. "But, while we're here, you can have yours back."

She detached the communication device from her wrist and handed it back to Terra, who tossed away the broken one carelessly and replaced it with her own.

_She really doesn't treat things very well... _thought Frost bitterly.

"Hey. Wait a minute. I know who you newcomers are," said a Team Darkness member. "You're the emblem bearers. I won't be backing out just because you guys decided to show your faces."

"W-wait... the emblem bearers?" said another Darkness member fearfully. "I-I think we should retreat now sir..."

"No!" snapped the first. "We will stay here and fight these children! We came here to capture them after all!"

Despite what the supposed leader had said, one Team Darkness member tried to sneak away from the clearing, but was noticed before he could disappear and was dragged back to his side.

"What are they talking about? What do they mean when they call you guys the emblem bearers?" inquired Terra.

Frost glanced at her brother, wondering whether they should give the information or not. She couldn't bring herself to trust others she didn't know for very long, as she was paranoid about what could happen later on.

Rai nodded. "We're the chosen ones that were given special powers by legendary pokemon. Their organisation is trying to capture us to prevent any hindrances on what they are planning."

"So you guys are seen as a bigger threat than the rest of us?"

"Something like that."

Terra smirked. "In that case, I'll show them that I'm just as much of a threat. I won't let anybody muck around with pokemon, and those who do will have a taste of my power firsthand."

"You're quite an amusing teenage girl, but I have no business with you," said the leading Darkness member. "My only objective is to capture the emblem bearers and bring them back to our base."

"I'm guessing that your leader ordered that?" said Rai.

"Of course he did. He's the only one that has the authority to give me orders. I'd rather be snacking on a bucket of popcorn than do whatever anyone else says."

"Alright then, let's see if you can fulfill that order." Rai got out a pokeball and enlarged it in his hands.

"Hey! Don't leave me outta this! I'm in this too!" shouted Terra.

"It's a twelve against six battle then. It won't be that hard," said the Darkness member.

Rai shot him a hostile glare. "We'll see. Come out Illumi!" He tossed his pokeball and a Lanturn emerged from it. The two yellow orbs above its head brightened up and sparked, showing that it was ready for a battle.

"That's an electric type pokemon. You can't beat my Krookodile with that, because he'll destroy it." The ground/dark type growled fearsomely, showing its power to try and intimidate.

"You're forgetting that Lanturn are part water type," said Rai. "And besides, you're not the only opponent. We've got to handle your lackeys as well. Choosing a pokemon based on only what you have would be a stupid move."

"Okay! Let's stop wasting time and start fighting already!" said Terra impatiently, looking at her Excadrill. The pokemon nodded at her, and she took it as an approval to begin giving commands. She smirked, having the exciting rush coursing through her veins.

"Use Drill Run, Exa!"

The subterrene pokemon wasted no time in executing the move. It quickly tucked its head in between its metal claws, and spinning itself around, it leapt and darted through the air. The sharp tip its blades formed was pointed towards Krookodile, and that very same tip was going to pierce its body if it didn't move out of the way.

"Krookodile, dodge it."

The intimidation pokemon expertly sidestepped the incoming move just in time, letting Terra's Excadrill speed harmlessly past.

_Damn! How in the world did my Exa miss?_

"Alright! The rest of you, attack with me now!" said the leading Team Darkness member. "Krookodile, use Sand Tomb!" The crocodile created a swirling wind of sand with its hands and fired it at Excadrill.

Following the live example, the other Team Darkness lackeys commanded their own pokemon to use various attacks. Terra quickly found herself on the receiving end of those attacks, and with a bunch of super-effective moves that hit (Sand Tomb, a couple of Flamethrowers, and some water type moves) her Exa didn't stand a chance.

"Damn! I should've done something!" grumbled Terra, returning her fainted pokemon into its pokeball. She was disappointed with the outcome, and the fact that she didn't really last very long in the battle. "Damn. Maybe these guys are really strong after all..." She sighed and looked to the Team Darkness guys in front of her. She glared at them, feeling sour at her speedy defeat, while the leader grinned evilly in return.

"Hey! Don't feel bad about that Terra! It was twelve attacks on one pokemon for crying out loud! That wasn't fair!" shouted Flare, feeling his hatred increasingly grow for the despicable bunch.

"You children _were _the ones to challenge us twelve to six. You had to have expected that!" laughed the Team Darkness squad leader.

"No! It was only Rai and Terra that's in the fight!" said Flare. "Two to twelve for your information."

"Well, why don't you join in and lend them a hand then?" challenged the leading Team Darkness man.

"Okay then! Maybe I will!" Flare grabbed out a pokeball and tossed it.

"Let's go Magma!"

The spherical item popped open, unleashing light that his Magmortar emerged from. It's head and tail flames intensified in excitement of the battle, and it bellowed in a deep voice showing its vigorous power.

"Alright! You and your friends are going to regret messing with us!" declared Flare. He gave his first order. "Magma, use Flamethrower!"

The fire type transformed its hands into cannons and pointed them at Krookodile. It focused its power on the tips of its hands, and when enough power was gathered, it fired two separate streams of ferocious orange flames directly towards its intended target.

"I admit that the attack looks quite powerful. I can't afford to get hit," said the leading Darkness member. "Krookodile, dodge it and then strike back with Stone Edge!"

Seeing the Flamethrower coming, the ground/dark type was more than prepared. It jumped into the air to avoid the attack, letting the fiery streams pass through below. Flare cursed at his miss. The Krookodile then formed two belts of rotating energy around itself, which then became loose stones with sharp edges. On its command, the loose stones broke the pattern and launched at Magmortar in a cluster.

"Magma, dodge it!"

The fire type leapt to the side, avoiding the flying stones with ease.

Rai, who watched on, decided that it would be best if he got actively involved too. "Alright Illumi! We should begin attacking too!" he announced. "Start off with Water Gun! Right at that Houndoom!"

The Lanturn opened its mouth, and it fired a forceful stream of water.

"Houndoom, use Flamethrower!" countered its trainer hastily.

The dark pokemon reacted almost immediately, shooting a line of flames right at the Water Gun. The two moves collided somewhere in the space in between, creating a deadlock of power.

_From the previous battles I've had with these guys, I should know that I can't overestimate myself_, thought Rai. _They have evil intentions, and some decent strength to back it up. I must be more careful._

"Houndoom! Overpower that Lanturn!" shouted the Team Darkness man. His pokemon replied to his urging, pressing on the attack.

_It seems like I have no choice here. I have to try and overcome his strength or risk Illumi taking a lot of damage._

"Illumi! Give it your all! Don't let their attack hit you!" shouted Rai. Despite already using all the power it had, the Lanturn didn't want to disappoint its trainer. It would break its limits if it must—no matter what—if it was to satisfy Rai. So the water/electric type pushed on, not allowing itself to give up just yet.

"Heh. I see an open target," said another Team Darkness man. "That Lanturn is already preoccupied doing something else. We'll take it out while its focus is all on that." He looked to his pokemon, deciding on what move to use.

"Sableye, land an Ice Punch onto that Lanturn."

Frost, realising what was going to happen, shouted a warning to her brother.

"Rai look out! A Sableye is coming for you!"

Rai turned his head, spotting the dark/ghost type headed for his Illumi with its fists glowing light blue. Considering type match-ups, ice moves weren't going to inflict much damage onto Lanturn, which was the positive side to it, but if the Sableye somehow landed a critical hit or maybe even froze the target, then there'd be a problem.

Rai had to find a way to avoid the attack, but noticed that his pokemon was still in a heated deadlock, so he proceeded to mentally panic.

_What can I do? Sableye is coming for Illumi, but she can't halt her own attack because Houndoom will torch her with Flamethrower._

"Don't worry Rai! We'll help you!" A Weavile popped out of a pokeball and attacked the Sableye with another Ice Punch before Illumi could get hit. Rai knew it was Weavato who saved him: Frost's Weavile.

"Thanks for the help Frost!" Rai gave his sister a thumbs up, and she smiled back. "Illumi! Don't let her efforts go to waste! Push on!"

The Lanturn forced itself to exert more power, which made its Water Gun significantly stronger. What seemed like a bleak clash between the two moves before, now looked as though Illumi was going to win it.

"Houndoom! Hold on!" shouted the opposing Team Darkness man.

The dark/fire type tried its hardest to keep the incoming water attack at bay, but didn't stand a chance as Illumi had become much more powerful. The Houndoom was easily overpowered, and after the Water Gun had hit, it flew backwards directly onto a tree where it crashed onto the trunk and fainted.

"You did it Illumi!" praised Rai, smiling at the pokemon. The Lanturn cried back happily, proud of its own work.

"Great job Illumi!" said Frost from beside Rai. The Lanturn smiled at her too. "And Rai, now that I've entered the fray, I'll do anything I can to assist you!"

"Glad to know!" smiled Rai.

Frost whirled around to Sky. "Come on Sky! Help us fend these guys off! You're an emblem bearer too after all!"

"O-okay..." said Sky hesitantly. She grabbed out a pokeball and threw it onto the battlefield. With an eruption of light, a Xatu emerged, its eyes reflecting its will to fight. It was the strongest fighter out of Sky's whole team, so she deemed it a good choice to make.

"We'll be able to handle this," said Rai. He turned to the other two. "Aqua, Terra. Just sit back and let us handle this, alright? We don't want you girls to get involved in this unnecessarily."

Aqua nodded, but Terra opened her mouth to protest. "We need to help you guys! I won't just let these twisted guys have their way with whatever they're planning!"

The girl reached to her pokemon belt and grabbed a pokeball out to throw it onto the battlefield, but was gestured by Rai to stop.

"They're after _us_ Terra. We don't want you to become their targets too. This is our business and we'll deal with it."

Terra knew that Rai only wanted them to keep as safe as possible—since they didn't have the power to do anything—but she didn't want to just stand by and be useless as wicked things occurred around the place. They were inhabitants of the world too, and if its ethics and very existence were being threatened by some force, they had to do something about it too. After all, it _also _affected them.

"You can't stop me from getting involved!" said Terra. "If they're really planning something big, then we're going to be affected by it too! We can't just sit back and let you guys handle it on your own! I don't care if you guys are the emblem bearers or not, I'm going to help too!"

"Well young girl, I wouldn't be saying you're making the wisest of moves..." said the leading Darkness member. "It's best if, like that boy said, you don't get involved with this. Just a reminder that if you _do_, unnecessary harm may be inflicted upon you, and you'll regret it very deeply."

"I don't care! If it's to help protect my sister and pokemon, then I'll gladly take some dose of pain! In fact, I'll be grinning the whole way through it!"

"Quite the exaggeration there... you guys are really wasting my time. I need to be getting back and snacking on some things."

_It looks like the emblem bearers won't be able to get caught this time... but that girl over there seems like a good target to lure them in, perhaps?_

"Hey!" shouted Flare. "There were twelve of you before right? What happened to one of you guys? I only see eleven of you!" He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, and the Team Darkness members grinned back at him wickedly.

Just then, a muffled voice came from behind. Alarmed, everyone turned around, finding Aqua being held at knifepoint while her mouth was covered.

"There's your answer..." laughed the Team Darkness squad leader. "I had one of my men sneak around the trees and come from behind to capture her. Since she was the furthest away from you guys, I thought that she'd be the easiest to get. And now that I did, you guys must feel stupid for not being bunched up closer." He laughed some more, and Rai could feel anger growing more and more from behind him.

"Damn you cowards! Let my sister go right now!" growled Terra.

"I can't do that. I've already wasted enough of my time," grinned the Team Darkness man. "Like I said, I really need to be getting back and snacking on some of my things."

"Just let go of my sister! Before you get something even worse than a beating!" said Terra, her anger swelling out of control. Her fists were packed tightly beside her, giving off the implication that she just might jump them herself and hand each of them a brutal taste of a knuckle sandwich.

"Alright then, I'll tell you what. If you guys want to save this girl, you'll have to come to our base in Castelia City to do so."

"You can't do that!" piped up Flare. "You're just running away from the battle!"

"Oh? So you think I'm running away from the battle?" The man's grinning face suddenly became dead serious, and he gazed at all five of the teenagers through narrow eyes. "I'm just _postponing _the battle. Why would you ever think I'd try to run away? Besides, I've told you whereabouts our base is at. Do you think I would've told you if I had no intention of facing you children again?"

After all that talking, the man sighed tiresomely, and stared to one of his lackeys, giving him a nod. The lackey nodded back, and gave his pokemon an order.

"Skuntank, use Poison Gas."

The poison/dark type let its mouth open and released clouds of purple toxic gas from within its body. The clouds soon spread, covering the forest clearing and the sight of everybody inside. To remedy this, the Team Darkness members grabbed out their special gas masks (to prevent inhaling the gas and for vision) and wore it above their faces—weirdly, the one holding Aqua at knifepoint made her wear a mask too.

"Guys! They're going to retreat!" shouted Flare with his hands cupped over his mouth and nose.

"Damn them! Damn this all!" shouted Terra, who did the same thing. "They just _had _to take away my sister! She's the only family I have left, ever since a month ago! I can't let them get away with this!"

"W-what are we going to do...?" questioned Sky unsurely.

Terra grunted. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to save my sister! I'm going to do it no matter what!"

"I'm with you on this Terra!" said Flare. "I'm going to help you save your sister! I mean, who's going to be Rai's bride if she's not around?"

Rai sighed irritably at Flare's implication.

"I'm only joking!" said Flare. "But still, I feel that helping your sister is the right thing to do!"

Soon, the toxic gases disappeared from the atmosphere, and their visions returned. The forest clearing was empty now; only they were there, since the Team Darkness members have withdrawn.

"Guys. I think we should save Aqua," said Rai determinedly. "We can't let Team Darkness get away with kidnapping somebody innocent like this."

"This is obviously a trap Rai. I don't know if we should do it..." spoke Frost.

"He's kidnapped someone innocent, and that's inexcusable," Rai declared. "It's our job as emblem bearers to not only stop this threatening evil, but to also help innocent people who need the assistance. Terra is in need of assistance now and we need to lend it to her. That is what I believe and I know I'm right."

"So is that the purpose I must fulfill...?"

A quiet voice came from the canopy of the trees and alerted the entire group. Their guards immediately went up, and they all searched around quickly for the source.

"Who's there?" asked Rai.

A boy with moderately spiky hair, wearing a glossy black leather jacket and black jeans, jumped down from where he stood on a branch. He landed on the ground perfectly with his snazzy black sneakers, and looked up to meet Rai eye-to-eye with his own dark brown ones.

"You must be the emblem bearer of electric. I'm here to lend you my strength."

* * *

**Review now maybe? :)**

**The Useless Things Section**

**- Does this chapter seem rushed the lower you get down the page?**

**- Dusk has finally met with the others! :)**

**- I'm sorry for taking so long with updating this :\ (to whoever reads this) :)**

**- Know what creature it was in the mountain scene? I don't expect anyone to know, since it _does _seem quite obscure.**

**Okay. This point might be a bit important. Just saying, but the beginning arc (this arc) is planned to be done by the next few chapters. :) Don't worry though, because the next arc will introduce new emblem bearers and bring them into the spotlight :) These characters _will_ return afterwards though, and every emblem bearer _will _gather eventually, so this definitely won't be the last time anyone sees the characters of the current arc. :D**

**Anyways, have a good day! (or night if that's when you're reading this) :)**


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